From street fighter to world champion - Bentley's rise to top

Published6 hours ago

Denzel Bentley was supposed to be fighting for a world title. Instead, he was close to becoming a delivery driver.

Having ended 2024 on a high by winning the British middleweight title for a third time and adding the European crown to his collection, Bentley, 31, had every reason to believe a world title fight would be next.

Meetings with promoter Queensberry offered Bentley hope until fight cards were announced and promises were broken.

During his time in the wilderness, Londoner Bentley was left with a dwindling bank account - leading him to look at new ways to earn money to stay afloat.

Without a fight purse to rely on, a chance conversation with his cousin almost saw Bentley taking up the role of a delivery driver.

"After a year out, I thought I needed to do something," Bentley told BBC Sport.

"I'm not bad with my money and was able to hold myself up to that point but it was starting to bite. My cousin said download the Amazon app and you can get a zero-hour contract. It was an app where you could check in and see if there was delivery work in your area.

"I downloaded it and signed in but there were no jobs in my area. I remember always refreshing and checking but there were no jobs in my area - that's the only reason I didn't do it."

Becoming world champion and being stripped without fighting

Bentley's 16-month absence from the ring did count for something when he captured the WBO interim middleweight title by overcoming Endry Saavedra in April 2026.

And three months later he was elevated to full world champion status following Janibek Alimkhanuly's decision to move up to super-middleweight.

Finally Bentley had achieved his lifelong goal.

But his reign lasted just 102 days, in which he made no defences, after he agreed to face Shane Mosley Jr rather than face his mandatory challenger.

Bentley, who fights the American at London's Copper Box Arena on Saturday, admitted frustration over the decision but believes promoter Zuffa Boxing can get him back in the world title mix.

"I've moved over to Zuffa and everyone thinks it's a money move," Bentley said.

"Firstly, I do want to get compensated rightly for the job I have - it's a demanding job and we take a lot of punches.

"But I want to become world champion again. All of the above can be true, I don't have to sacrifice one for the other. I've asked Zuffa to get me back in position to win another one. They said no problem."

'Game-changer' bikes to the gym

Bentley's introduction to boxing was rather unconventional - a fight club run by his brother on his local estate.

A headguard, gloves and a friend were all that were needed for Bentley - who boasts a record of 22 wins, three losses and one draw - to have his first taste of the sport.

But he soon realised that boxing in the streets was a lot different from the real thing.

"When I went to college, I met a friend who boxed and because of what I'd been doing in the streets with my brother, I said, 'yeah, I can box too'," Bentley said.

"But I found out it was really different. I remember calling the punches the wrong names. I thought it was left jab, right jab, but it's obviously a jab and a right hand or a cross.

"I was hitting the bags but had the wrong form and then I was getting battered in sparring. I thought 'OK, this wasn't what I was doing' but I wanted to learn how to do it."

And then getting to the gym came with its own problems, but nothing the inventive Bentley couldn't get around with the help of Santander bikes.

"I was short on money, had sold my car and didn't really want to spend money on buses. I would rent out the Santander bikes," Bentley said.

"I would put in £2 and pace down the road to make sure I didn't take more than 30 minutes and then park up and come home. It wouldn't charge me extra as long as I never went over half an hour.

"Before that, I would walk to the gym. I lived in Battersea and the gym was in Bermondsey.

"I'd just put my music in and people would ask, 'Oh, you like walking to the gym?' but I just didn't have any other choice. When I discovered the bikes, it was a game-changer."

Related topics

Boxing

Boxing schedule and results 2026

• Published8 October

Boxing schedule and results 2026

Published8 October

Watch every Born to Brawl episode

• Published28 April 2024

Watch every Born to Brawl episode

Published28 April 2024

More boxing from the BBC

Notifications, social media and more with BBC Sport

• Published28 August

Notifications, social media and more with BBC Sport

Published28 August