Queensberry Promotions’ December 7th card saw British middleweight contenders Denzel Bentley and Brad Pauls put up a tremendous performance in a domestic match-up to decide the next likely world title challenger. In a bout that went the full 12 rounds, Bentley labored through the majority of the rounds to grab an important unanimous decision (UD) win in a high-stakes fight. The Queensberry card was held at the Wembley Arena in London, England.

Denzel Bentley vs. Brad Pauls

The domestic fight between Denzel Bentley (21-3-1, 17 KO’s) and Brad Pauls (19-2-1, 11 KO’s) saw two prime-aged fighters go head-to-head in a multi-title bout that could also potentially determine the next WBO middleweight (160 lbs) mandatory challenger.

It was a close-knit affair between the two British fighters but one that Denzel Bentley managed to largely excel in, with his experience playing a vital role in Bentley coming out on top with a UD win.

Pauls’ most substantial moments came through his activity as he sought to overwhelm Bentley. However, this tactic proved to be fruitless early on as Bentley’s tight defense and distance gauging kept Pauls’ offense at bay. More devastatingly, Bentley applied a combination of careful counterattacks, accuracy and ring dominance to control the pace of the fight―dragging Pauls into too many mistakes that would become his undoing.

As the rounds waned, Pauls’ activity slowed down, allowing Bentley to push further into a lead with as he chose to came forward. Bentley’s weaknesses within the pocket offered Pauls some headway into the fight when he sought an up close confrontation, but the defensive fundamentals by Bentley helped him stave off damage that would have tilted the scorecards in favor of Pauls.

By the latter rounds, Denzel Bentley became more confident which allowed him to take more risks but also accrue more damage. An arguably accidental punch by Bentley to the eye of Pauls somewhat foiled the outcome as Pauls struggled to carry on, though Bentley still seemed to have retained a lead since the incident. Nonetheless, both fighters would continue to fight on until the end of the 12th round whereafter Bentley was announced the winner by unanimous decision, retaining his WBO International title in the process.

Bentley also won Pauls’ BBBofC British and EBU European middleweight titles.

With Bentley having already challenged for a world title once when he faced Kazakh champion Janibek Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KO’s) for his 160-pound WBO title in 2022, a potential rematch between the two might be on the cards involving the same WBO title Alimkhanuly defended, as well as Alimkhanuly’s IBF middleweight title.

Bentley is currently ranked #1 according to the WBO’s middleweight rankings and following the recent decision by former #1-rated British contender Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KO’s) to withdraw from a mandatory bout and purse bid, Bentley might possibly gain the opportunity to revenge his 2022 loss if the WBO orders him and Alimkhanuly to stage a rematch.

Undercard results:

• In the most intriguing match-up on the undercard, British heavyweights (200+ lbs) Solomon Dacres (9-1, 3 KO’s) and David Adeleye (13-1, 12 KO’s) fought in a high-stakes bout with the BBBofC English title―defended by Dacres―on the line. Their fight culminated in a surprising 1st round victory for Adeleye after a left hook dropped Dacres and left him unable to continue. The referee’s timely intervention and stoppage ruled it a technical knockout (TKO) victory for Adeleye.

  

• Former WBO cruiserweight (200 lbs) world champion and new Queensberry Promotions signing Lawrence Okolie (21-1, 16 KO’s) made promotional debut against German contender Huseyin Muhamed (18-2, 14 KO’s) in a heavyweight match. Okolie made short work of Muhamed, stopping him in the 1st round to win the vacant WBC silver title.

• Boxing siblings Sean (9-0, 4 KO’s) and Sam Noakes (16-0, 14 KO’s) both recorded victories in their respective matches, with the former retaining his BBBofC English welterweight title (147 lbs) in his UD victory, while Sam Noakes defeated British rival Ryan Walsh (29-5-2, 13 KO’s) to retain his BBBofC British, Commonwealth and WBO International lightweight (135 lbs) titles to alert the 135-pound division of his presence.