Denzel Bentley has lodged an appeal with the WBO to retain his middleweight world championship.
The WBO has instructed Bentley to make an immediate title defence against mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez, while Bentley is committed to boxing Shane Mosley Jr next on November 7 at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Bentley is convinced he should have the right to make a voluntary defence against Mosley and remain champion.
Mosley Jr, the son of boxing star Shane Mosley, is rated No 6 with the WBO and a legitimate title contender after a stunning stoppage win over Serhii Bohachuk in his last fight.
“I’m more than happy to fight Hernandez. It’s just the situation at hand. We already thought we were fighting a voluntary defence before the end of the year and put things in place for that. This has been thrown on us,” Bentley told Sky Sports.
“It just makes it a difficult place for me to be in. I don’t want to vacate and I don’t want to be stripped of my title. But I have to move forward in my career and I cannot wait around for people to make decisions for me.”
His appeal with the WBO is ongoing. “I think because it went to purse bids it’s making it a bit difficult at this point. I think we do have a good case. I did become champion and in their rulings you get nine months from when you become champion until your the mandatory gets called on. We’ve been fighting this case from before it went to purse bids,” Bentley said.
“I think we’ve got a strong enough case for us to keep our title and if we can keep the title on the line for this fight, it would be an honour for me and an honour for Shane Mosley Jr getting a shot at a world title and he could potentially become world champion. Not on my watch, I’m not going to let that happen.”
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Shane Mosley Jr produced the performance of his career as he floored Serhii Bohachuk in the sixth round before forcing an impressive stoppage win.
When it comes to his upcoming battle in the ring, Bentley is expecting an exciting clash with Mosley Jr on November 7, live on Sky Sports.
“He is on a good run right now,” the Londoner said of Mosley. “He’s a tough guy, he’s got a lot of heart and it’s going to be a tough fight.
“I think it’s going to be a little bit of a dogfight. He is a dog, he’s got heart, he’s a workhorse, he’s very fit, he throws a lot of punches.
“We’re going to give a good fight for the fans.”
Watch Bentley fight Mosley Jr on the Chris Billam-Smith vs Cheavon Clarke bill on November 7 live on Sky Sports.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
