Denzel Bentley- "I am not looking past this fight"
British Middleweight Champion Denzel ‘2Sharp’ Bentley (14-0-1 12KO) takes on fellow unbeaten Brit Felix Cash (13-0-0 9KO), for the prestigious Lonsdale belt as well as for the Commonwealth title.
I have had the privilege of speaking to Denzel a few times now and his mentality has always been the same, he wants the big fights, and he wants them sooner rather than later. He recently defeated Mark Heffron in the 4th Round after dominating the first three rounds. The upcoming fight with Felix Cash will certainly be the toughest fight to date for both fighters and will reign supreme on the domestic scene with views of progressing to European and world honours moving forward.
“I am very happy that this fight is happening now. Even though the fight is still a couple of weeks away, I am ahead of where I should be, so I am in excellent condition. The sparring I am having is exactly what I need. I can’t wait for this fight. To be honest, I have been fit and ready to go since January but these last few weeks is all about getting fight ready and then allowing some down time before the first bell goes.”
In many peoples eyes, Denzel was an underdog going into his two fights with Mark Heffron, with the first fight ending in a draw but the second fight being all one way traffic. He has learned a lot from going to distance and he can carry that experience going into tougher fights in the future.
“The fights with Mark Heffron have set me up perfectly for the fights ahead. I feel like I am now ready for anything which is why fights like them are so important for me. I have now proven that I can go the distance. I thought I won the first fight but I won the second and took a lot from them.“
I asked what he made of Felix Cash’s career so far and if he has seen anything which he can exploit when they meet later in the month.
“I try not to focus too much on my opponents if I am honest, but I am definitely taking him seriously. The thing is the way he boxed one fighter may be different to the way he fights me. If I focus on him fighting off the back foot and then suddenly, he decides to try and fight off the front and dictate the pace, it changes everything. I know what I have to do and that is mainly focusing on myself and the problems I can cause him. A big part of my style is everything comes naturally, so I try not to over analyse things.”
With Denzel being a Queensbury fighter and Felix being a Matchroom fighter, the fight went to purse bids which was won by Frank Warren and Queensbury Promotions so the fight will be shown live on BT Sport. Denzel shared his thoughts on this.
“I was really happy that Frank won the purse bid, it shows he has a lot of confidence in me as a fighter and I will repay his faith in me by winning this fight.”
Felix Cash could have boxed Matteo Signani for the European Title but he chose to box for the Lonsdale belt instead. I did ask Denzel if he would like that fight next if he is successful on the 24th.
“It is a possibility for sure but I am not looking past this fight. I just want the big fights and this is one of them. Winning this fight opens up a lot of possibilities for me but I won’t be discussing that until the 25th April.”