Denzil Bentley Drops Shane Mosley Jr And Wins On Points

Denzel Bentley put Shane Mosley Jr on the floor in the second round at London’s Copper Box Arena on Saturday night and spent much of the next eight keeping him off. The Londoner won a unanimous decision over ten rounds on his Zuffa Boxing debut, with scores of 96-94, 96-93 and 95-94. Unanimity sounded rather more comfortable than it had looked. Mosley kept coming with a cut above his right eye and was still making Bentley work for room in the final round.

The middleweights boxed without a title at stake on the bill headed by Chris Billam Smith and Cheavon Clarke. Bentley had stopped Endry Saavedra in seven rounds in April to take the interim WBO championship and was promoted in July when Janibek Alimkhanuly vacated. The WBO stripped him on 30 October after refusing his request to box Mosley before defending against mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernández. Bentley had argued that he was entitled to make a voluntary defence first. He came to the Copper Box with four successive wins since his defeat by Nathan Heaney. This was Bentley’s second fight of the year, and the home crowd gave the 31-year-old a loud reception as he came out.

Mosley, 35, was boxing in Britain for the first time. The son of the former world champion Shane Mosley had lost on points to Jesús Ramos Jr. for the interim WBC middleweight title last December, then stopped Serhii Bohachuk in six rounds in May on his Zuffa debut. He was a pound over the 160-pound limit at Friday’s weigh-in and made it on his return to the scales. Bentley made 160 at the first attempt.

Mosley took the centre behind a long left jab in the first and backed Bentley into a corner. Bentley kept his gloves high and found room to send a straight right through as the American came on. That punch began to tell in the second. An early right shook Mosley, and Bentley soon found his chin with another right behind a left hook. Mosley went down heavily, the first knockdown of his professional career. He beat the count and took a further burst of punches, then worked Bentley back towards the ropes himself before the bell.

Bentley thought he had him. By the third, Mosley was steady enough to get back behind his jab and begin pressing again. “He came on strong in the third round,” Bentley said. The fourth was more evenly contested, with Bentley landing the sharper counters in spells. In the fifth, he spent much of his time circling. Mosley followed him, found a right hand and let his punches go when he got him to the ropes.

Bentley’s trainer, Martin Bowers, asked for “a touch of urgency” before the sixth. Mosley kept the initiative in that round, landing right hands and working with his left hook at close range. Bentley found a left uppercut late in the seventh, although Mosley was still throwing as the Londoner turned away. Mosley had more success inside in the eighth, where he could keep Bentley occupied for longer and give him less room to pick a counter.

The cut over Mosley’s right eye worsened, but the American carried on forcing the pace. Bentley changed to southpaw in the late rounds and showed Mosley a different look, doubling the jab and following with a straight left. The right hand was still his surest answer. He caught Mosley with one in the ninth and, back in his orthodox stance in the tenth, landed another counter as Mosley closed on him at the ropes. Mosley stayed on his feet and took the fight to the bell.

The round cards show how little Bentley had in reserve. All three judges gave him the first, second and seventh, and all three gave Mosley the fifth and sixth. The judge who scored it 95 to 94 gave Mosley the last three rounds. On that card, the second-round knockdown supplied the margin. The judges recorded no point deductions. Bentley improved to 23 wins, three defeats and a draw from 22 wins, three defeats and a draw. Eighteen of Bentley’s wins have come inside the distance. Mosley came in with 23 wins, 13 of them by knockout, and five defeats. He left with a sixth loss.

Bentley named IBF champion Aaron McKenna and WBC champion Carlos Adames as possible opponents, then turned his attention to Conor Benn at ringside. “I’d love a world title shot,” he said, before pointing Benn out as another option. Benn replied, “Any day of the week.” That was as far as negotiations got in the ring.

I had Bentley winning, but he made it harder than it needed to be. The knockdown showed what happens when he throws the right with something in front of it. The left hook made Mosley deal with a punch coming round the side, then the right came straight through the middle. Bentley had already shaken him with the right alone. Putting the two together gave Mosley less time to see it coming.

What impressed me about Mosley was how quickly he went back to his jab. He’d been down heavily, yet he was soon making Bentley give ground again. Once he got Bentley near the ropes, he could bring the left hook into play at close quarters. Bentley’s guard was tight, but there were spells when he’d land a good counter and give up the space he’d just earned. I wanted him to put the jab back in Mosley’s face as he moved off. Give a fighter like Mosley a free step forward, and he’ll take another.

I liked the switch to southpaw late on. Bentley doubled the jab and sent the straight left in behind it. That gave Mosley a different line to defend after spending so much of the fight looking for the right hand. Then Bentley went back to orthodox and caught him coming in again. Mosley deserved credit for making him work right to the bell. I gave Bentley the edge because his cleaner punches kept interrupting Mosley’s best work, even when Mosley had him where he wanted him.