DENZEL BENTLEY’S 16 months in the boxing wilderness nearly drove him up the Amazon.
The 31-year-old middleweight was topped British champion for the second time in December 2024, with a unanimous decision over Cornwall warrior Brad Pauls.
But boxing politics, empty provides and damaged guarantees imply Bentley has not fought since.
Times bought robust so the dad-of-one was able to develop into a supply driver — to work round coaching on the Peacock Gym.
Instead, the Battersea boxer bit down on his gumshield and targeted on his coaching.
Now Bentley hopes to ship the WBO interim world title — while dope-cheat champ Janibek Alimkhanuly is banned — with a win over Endry Saavedra of Venezuela on the O2 tonight.
But he admitted: “One hundred per cent I’ve struggled. I used to be about to do Amazon supply stuff. I used to be so shut.
“It’s exhausting. You don’t receives a commission except you fight and I’m not lucky sufficient to have a great deal of sponsors, like some fighters do.
“I’ve bought a child and we reside as a household. I’ve payments to pay, so it’s been exhausting. I nearly utilized for a few supply driving jobs.
“But proper on the finish I didn’t have the guts to undergo with it. I simply stayed in the health club and tried to not waste the time.
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The Home of Boxing in 2026
There’s an enormous 12 months of boxing forward!
It’s shaping up to be a blockbuster 12 months of motion contained in the boxing ring.
Tyson Fury will make his return in April in opposition to Arslanbek Makhmudov whereas Oleksandr Usyk takes on the king of kickboxing Rico Verhoeven.
Conor Benn options for the primary time since making the change to Zuffa Boxing and Fabio Wardley will defend his newly received heavyweight crown.
Canelo Alvarez can be hoping to return after his defeat to Terence Crawford and heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk can even defend his straps.
Derek Chisora will fight for the fiftieth and (maybe) closing time in opposition to Deontay Wilder whereas Daniel Dubois can be on the comeback path.
An entire bunch of British stars may additionally take a leap into superstardom, with the likes of Moses Itauma, Hamzah Sheeraz and Adam Azim prepared to affix the very prime of the game.
Here’s all the big fights coming up…
April
- Sat 4 – Deontay Wilder vs Derek Chisora – (*16*)
- Sun 5 – Caroline Dubois vs Terri Harper – Sky Sports
- Sat 11 – Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov – Netflix
- Sat 11 – Conor Benn vs Regis Prograis – Netflix
- Sat 18 – Callum Smith vs David Morrell – DAZN
- Sat 18 – Manny Pacquiao vs Ruslan Provodnikov
- Sat 25 – Lawrence Okolie vs Tony Yoka – DAZN
May
- Sat 2 – Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani – Undisputed super-bantamweight title – TBC
- Sat 2 – Zurdo Ramirez vs David Benavidez – WBA & WBO Cruiserweight titles – Prime Video
- Sat 9 – Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois – WBO title – (*16*)
- Sat 16 – Dave Allen vs Filip Hrgovic – DAZN
- Sat 23 – Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven – WBC title – DAZN
June
- Sat 6 – Dalton Smith vs Alberto Puello – WBC tremendous light-weight title – DAZN
- Sat 13 – Tommy Fury vs Eddie Hall – DAZN
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Chisora vs Wilder – all the data
DEREK CHISORA and Deontay Wilder are set to go head-to-head in a blockbuster heavyweight bout this Saturday.
Both of the boxing legends will step into the ring for the fiftieth fight of their skilled careers, with Del Boy prepared to hold up his gloves after reaching the half-century mark.
Chisora beforehand acknowledged he would retire after his fiftieth fight, and an enormous house conflict in opposition to one in all boxing’s most harmful punchers is a becoming farewell.
The 42-year-old Londoner heads into the house bout on a three-fight profitable streak, together with standout victories over Joe Joyce and Otto Wallin.
Meanwhile, Wilder has failed to take a look at his explosive finest since back-to-back defeats to Tyson Fury.
Since then, the Bronze Bomber has secured two underwhelming wins in opposition to lower-ranked opponents and suffered additional losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
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“If I had taken a delivery job, I would have missed a lot of time in the gym and not been sharp when this fight came around.”
A throwback fighter, Bentley trains, fights, trains once more and repeats.
The new age of social-media schmoozing isn’t his model however that has come at a value.
He mentioned: “The guys that get the pushes, it’s right down to reputation. They are the fellows which might be younger or have sure titles or deliver numbers on-line.
“It was hard to even get a deal done with this opponent. But I know the position I am in, so I knew what I was waiting for.”
The optimistic about being an out-of-work prizefighter has been life as a full-time dad.
Son Cairo was born untimely and desperately ailing in the build-up to his 2023 defeat by Nathan Heaney.
The Stoke man was glorious however Bentley massively underperformed and misplaced his beloved Lonsdale belt.
He doesn’t blame the start for the hiccup and has relished being round Cairo.
A smiling Bentley mentioned: “Two years at house with my son have been good. I can’t lie, it’s been good.
“I’d have missed a lot of that if I had been in training camps for fights. He has a lot of character now — a little menace. He keeps me on my toes.”
