Denzel Bentley vs Brad Pauls Preview December 7th, 2024
Denzel Bentley of London, England defends his WBO International Middleweight Title in his hometown this Saturday, December 7th as he takes on British Champion and fellow Englishman Brad Pauls of Newquay. A third belt is also on the line as the vacant European Crown will be up for grabs as well. Bentley last boxed in August when he stopped Derrick Osaze in the second round with a vicious right uppercut. Pauls’ last outing resulted in a 12th-round TKO over Nathan Heaney to win his British Belt. The 10-rounder will be held at Wembley Arena in London and can be seen live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK and Ireland. Bentley stopped Danny Dignum in the second round in May to win the vacant International Title while Pauls drew with Heaney in March in his first shot at the title and stopped him in their rematch.
Bentley vs Pauls Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Brad Pauls +120
- Denzel Bentley -150
My Pick
Bentley is 29 years old and has mark of 20-3-1 with 17 Ko’s and has boxed 97 rounds since making his pro debut in 2017. He stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a 72-inch reach and possesses fine power as 85 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including four of his past seven. Bentley’s first pro defeat came at the hands of Felix Cash by third-round stoppage in April, 2021 to lose his Commonwealth and British Middleweight Titles.
Bentley’s second defeat came at the hands of Zhanibek Alimkhanuly when he dropped a unanimous decision in November, 2022 in a shot at the WBO Middleweight Title. He regained the vacant British Title with a split decision win over Linus Udofia in May, 2022 and defended it by stopping Marcus Morrison in the fourth round four months later and against Kieran Smith in April, 2023 with a first-round KO but lost the belt again when he dropped a 12-round majority decision to Nathan Heaney last November.
His lone draw as a pro was a 10-round affair with Mark Heffron in September, 2020. Bentley then beat Heffron by stopping him after the fourth round in a rematch two months later to capture the vacant British Middleweight Belt for the first time. Bentley has basically been fighting domestic and European level opponents and has never fought outside of the UK as a pro. He took a step up in class against Alimkhanuly however and acquitted himself quite well but was then brought back to earth with his recent loss to Heaney but has bounced back with TKO wins over Dignum and Osaze since.
As for Pauls, he’s 31 years old and climbs into the ring with a record of 19-1-1 with 11 Ko’s and has boxed 118 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 after his amateur career. He measures 5-feet-10-inches tall but unfortunately there’s no reach information on Paul, but he’s an inch shorter than Bentley. He carries around above-average power as 58 per cent of his victories have come by stoppage but he’s gone the distance in three out of his last five wins but has stopped his last two opponents.
Pauls’ lone pro loss came at the hands of Tyler Denny by 10-round unanimous decision in February, 2023 in a shot at the English Middleweight Title. He then won the vacant English Belt by stopping Mitchell Frearson in the eighth round in September, 2023. he also has wins over Ryan Kelly and Robbie Chapman. Just eight of Pauls’ 21 opponents entered the ring with a winning record.
Prediction…
Bentley and Pauls are solid pros on the domestic and European level rather than the world stage. Bentley definitely has the edge in power here but he needs to make sure he doesn’t take Pauls too lightly however. Bentley is on a bit of a roll since losing a close call to Heaney with two solid stoppage wins while Pauls has three wins a draw and a loss in his last five fights. This should be a pretty good fight and I’m giving Bentley the edge here as due to his power and experience against tougher competition.
Play Bentley -150 @ BetOnline.ag
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Brad Pauls betting • Denzel Bentley betting