Denzel Bentley vs Danny Dignum Preview May 11th, 2024
The vacant WBO International Middleweight Title is up for grabs this Saturday, May 11th as Danny Dignum and Denzel Bentley meet in their hometown of London, England. The 12-rounder from York Hall can be seen live in the UK and Ireland on TNT Sports 1. Dignum last fought on April 14th when he beat Lukasz Maciec on points over eight rounds. Bentley was last in the ring in November when he dropped a 12-round majority decision to Nathan Heaney and lost his British Middleweight Belt.
Bentley vs Dignum Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Danny Dignum +600
- Denzel Bentley -700
My Pick
Bentley is 29 years old and has mark of 18-3-1 with 15 Ko’s and has boxed 93 rounds since making his pro debut in 2017. He stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a 72-inch reach and possesses better-than-average power as 83.3 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but has gone the distance in three of his last five fights. 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.
However he regained the vacant British Title with a split decision win over Linus Udofia in May, 2022. He and then defended it by stopping Marcus Morrison in the fourth round four months later and against Kieran Smith in April, 2023. 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. 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.
Dignum is a 30-year-old southpaw with a fine mark of 14-1-1 with 8 Ko’s. He made his pro debut in 2016 and has boxed 86 rounds since. Before that, he was an ABA amateur Middleweight Champion. He’s 6-feet-1-inch tall with an unlisted reach so has a two-inch edge in height over Bentley. Dignum possesses decent power as 56.3 per cent of his victories have come by stoppage and he has two KO’s in his last five fights. .
His only defeat came at the hands of Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in May, 2022 when he was stopped in the second round in a shot at the Interim WBO Middleweight Title while his lone draw as a pro was a 10-round split decision with Andrey Sirotkin in April, 2021. Sirotkin and Alimkhanuly have definitely been his toughest opponents so far as the first 10 of his 15 opponents entered the ring with losing records. Dignum is stepping up in class again this weekend as Bentley is generally regarded as the better boxer.
Prediction…
Dignum is a good pro but is 3-1-1 in his last five fights while Bentley has lost two of his past three. Both men were beaten Zhanibek Alimkhanuly as Bentley went the distance in a unanimous decision loss while Dignum was stopped in the second round. I think Bentley is the more polished boxer here and also possesses more power and believe he’ll leave the ring with the belt this Saturday.
Play Bentley -700 @ BetOnline.ag
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Danny Dignum betting • Denzel Bentley betting