DECEMBER 2023

‘I had my first amateur fight when I was 19, however my amateur career wasn’t very long. I only had 17 fights, which included getting to the quarter finals of the Under 20 Novices. I also started training at the Peacock Gym in Canning Town halfway through my three year amateur career and then at one point I decided to turn pro.’

Bentley turned pro on 14 October 2017 and three years later beat Mark Heffron to be crowned British middleweight champion. Unfortunately, a few months later, he lost the title to Feliz Cash, however, a year later he regained the title after a Fight of the Year contender against Linus Udofia. Bentley recalled being crowned a two-time British middleweight champion. ‘Ahhh. It was very satisfying. That was one of the high moments of my career. I’m at the point of my career where I am now, because of that fight against Linus. That was an incredible fight and people still talk about it to this day. What a fight that was. It brought me back on track with my career.’

Hamzah Sheeraz has expressed an interest to fight Bentley. Denzel explained how he would see the fight panning out. ‘That’s a fight I would need to be one hundred percent for. He’s a good fighter and it would be a good fight, but I know I’d stop him.’

Behind every fighter, there’s a trainer. Bentley explained the merits of having long term trainer, Martin Bowers in his corner. ‘Martin brings a lot of self-confidence and a lot of self-belief, which has consequently given me self-belief. He’s made me believe in my power more as time’s gone on, whereas early in my career I didn’t think I was a puncher, I just thought, ‘Why’s everyone going over when I’m hitting them, and I don’t mean that arrogantly. With Martin’s calm and relaxed way, he gives that belief, but also shows the faith he has in me, by putting me in these big fights. He believes in my ability, which makes me believe in it also.

Bentley lost his British title on 18 November 2023 in a close majority decision to Nathan Heaney. Challenge in the face of adversity is not alien territory for the south London resident and his ability to bounce back and regain honours is something that he’s not only capable of, but able to do with gusto. At 28 years of age, big fights await him domestically, at European level and no doubt at world level again. We wish him all the best.

In October 2023, Bentley took part in a photoshoot for British Vintage Boxing. The courteous Londoner recalled the day. ‘That was the first time I’d ever done a photoshoot and I had a great time, even though it was pretty cold that day! It was nice to do the shoot with Charlie Duffield, who also trained at the Peacock, because it was someone I was familiar with and I enjoyed catching up with him. I enjoyed the poses and I think I could make a new career out of this!’

Bentley gave his verdict on the threads. ‘It’s great quality gear. It feels soft on your skin, it’s comfortable and for a sweater, it wasn’t like so many pullovers that are stiff, this felt like I’d had it for ages. Most importantly, it was a really warm top, which was great, because it was cold out there that day. Love the design, that old school feel. That slightly washed out, vintage feel. I’ll be using that tracksuit to sweat out in the future.’

From old school garments to bygone greats. If given the opportunity to spar with any past boxing legend, Bentley quickly gave his choice. ‘Marvin Hagler. Absolutely no doubt about it. He’d probably batter me, but that’s how you learn. He could switch from southpaw to orthodox so easily and I’d want to see what skills he possessed and physically, and just how strong his punching power was. That would be the best experience ever.’