Denzel Bentley vs Derrick Osaze set for summer sizzler this August
Two-time British champion and world title contender Denzel Bentley (19-3-1, 16KO) will face Ultimate Boxxer winner Derrick Osaze (13-1, 3KO) on August 17 at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, live on TNT Sports.
The middleweights will clash in a battle of south London with Bentley born and bred in Battersea and ‘The Punching Preacher’ produced in Peckham.
30-year-old Osaze triumphed over Tey Lynn Jones, Kieron Conway and Grant Dennis in the 2019 Ultimate Boxxer middleweights tournament, defeating three top prospects in one night with a combined record of 33-2.
Boxing away from home in Sheffield in June 2021 saw him defeated for the first and only time by the in-form Tyler Denny on points after 10 tough rounds made all the harder by an almost two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
Now residing in Nottingham where he is the pastor of the GVM Youth Church, Osaze has won three in a row since then, but only managed to fight once per year.
29-year-old Bentley bounced back from his mixed decision defeat to Nathan Heaney in November 2023 with a devastating second-round stoppage of Danny Dignum last May.
The enigmatic middleweight has only won six from his last bouts, but it’s covers the period where his career really took off. An unexpected draw with the powerful Mark Heffron during lockdown in 2020, saw a rematch called for the British middleweight title, which Bentley won after a fourth-round retirement.
Then he suffered his first loss to Felix Cash in his first title defence, but three victories later against decent domestic competition, and the exciting fighter landed in Las Vegas for a word title shot!
Despite wide scorecards of 112-116 twice and 110-118 to defending WBO World middleweight champ Janibek Alimkhanuly, Bentley was able to make every round competitive and came away with plenty of plaudits from the biggest fight of his career.
Another incredible win followed in April 2023 when he blasted Scot Kieran Smith away in just 45 seconds to regain the Lonsdale belt he had held two years prior.
But then the curse of the first defence struck again when he was pipped to the post by the hugely popular Stoke showman, Nathan Heaney in November last year, conceding his British belt for a second time.
His second-round demolition over Dignum in his most recent outing means that his last three victories have all come within four rounds. In fact, his last five KOs on his record have all come within four rounds.
Although Osaze isn’t known for his power like Bentley is, who boasts an 84% KO ratio, Delboy was able to stop his last foe in three rounds, setting up this south London summer showdown nicely.
Also on the bill is Aloys Junior vs Oronzo Birardi, plus appearances from Ben Fail and Luke McCormack.