Denzel Bentley vs Derrick Osaze fight breakdown
The Battle for South London – Battersea boxer Bentley meets Peckham’s punching preacher this Saturday night at the York Hall, live on TNT Sports
WBO #2 Denzel Bentley (19-3-1, 16KO) will clash with the Ultimate BOXXER Derrick Osaze (13-1, 3KO) tomorrow night, August 17, in what is set to be a summer sizzler in the heated East End cauldron that is the York Hall in Bethnal Green.
Former two-time British middleweight champion and world title contender Bentley puts his WBO International middleweight title on the line against Osaze.
Both boxers hail from South London, although Osaze has since moved to Nottingham. They also share similarities in that they each had short but successful amateur careers and were brought up in rough environments where they often found trouble on the streets.
As professionals, their careers differ greatly. 29-year-old Denz is entering his 24th bout and eighth championship contest, whereas Delboy has yet to win a title in 14 fights.
However, the ‘Punching Preacher’, named so for being ordained as a Pastor, previously won the Ultimate BOXXER middleweights tournament in 2019, defeating three opponents in one night, with a combined record of 33-2, which included Kieron Conway.
His sole reversal came at the hands of Tyler Denny when the Rowley Regis star was first embarking on his incredible winning streak that now sees him reigning as European middleweight champion. Osaze was deducted a point for a low blow in the final round, causing him to lose the 10-round bout by just two points. Without that deduction, the result could have even ended as a draw.
That provides a good measuring stick as to where Osaze sits at domestic level. The 30-year-old is a top contender, but has been very inactive since being adorned with the Golden Robe, with just five fights in five years.
Bentley has fought 13 fights within that same timeframe, including eight championship contests. He has conquered the British middleweight division twice and gave a great account of himself at world level when he challenged WBO champion Janibek Alimkhanuly in 2022, winning at least four rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards.
He has some very notable names as scalps on his ledger, including Mark Heffron, Linus Udofia, Marcus Morrison, Kieran Smith and Danny Dignum.
His trio of losses have come at the hands of the powerful Felix Cash, who stopped him in the third round of a thrilling shootout in 2021; then his brave world title defeat to the unbeaten Kazakh, who is now a unified IBF and WBO champion; then he was recently outworked by Nathan Heaney last November, which caused him to lose his Lonsdale belt for a second time in a defence that could have seen him win the honours outright.
‘The Hitman’ Heaney was first to the punch, busier than Bentley, constantly moving to take away the champion’s chance to land his powerful punches, and was able to triumph narrowly via a mixed decision.
Denz bounced back with a two-round destruction of Danny Dignum, dropping him three times with body shots and cutting him over his left eye, even though the Essex fighter had intimate knowledge of Bentley having sparred hundreds of rounds together.
This fight is going to be intriguing because of their differing styles. Osaze is an aggressive swarmer, he likes to constantly close the gap and sit on his opponents’ chest. Although he has scored knockdowns and knockouts, he isn’t know for his punching power, but Bentley is.
16 knockouts from 19 wins results in an 84% KO ratio. Bentley’s last four KOs have come in rounds one, two, three and four. This is just one of the reasons why he is the bookies favourite.
Betting Odds
2/17 Bentley
15/2 Osaze
20/1 Draw
Prediction
Osaze has the energetic style to make life difficult for Bentley. If he follows the blueprint laid down by Nathan Heaney – by being busier, first to the punch, constantly moving, utilising the high energy and output he is known for – then he has a strong case to be able to win this fight on points and collect his first ever professional title.
However, he also has a style that could get him in trouble as he comes forward so aggressively, opening up, he will be susceptible for counters, something which Bentley is superb at, with his sharp jab and thunderous straight right, and his powerful hooks are often the catalysts for his KOs.
He’s a great finisher; once he has a foe in trouble, he regularly kills the fight off moments later. For example, one shot to Kieran Smith’s head staggered him, then the fight was over within 45 seconds.
Bentley has experience and strength over Osaze, also momentum and activity with 13 fights within the same timeframe that Osaze has fought just five times in five years.
Not only has he been top of the tree at British level, he has twice been in world title contention, where one more win could see him force a rematch for the WBO and IBF belts.
I believe that Bentley’s power will be the difference and will score yet another knockout, but it’s hard to guess when that could come. Will advancing Osaze present too many openings for Bentley to exploit early or will his energy be hard to contain and take a while for Denz to slow him down and get to him?
Heaney didn’t allow Bentley to find his rhythm or get into position to land anything significant, peppering him and constantly moving laterally, so could Osaze’s workrate garner the same results.
Personally, I think he may become too open on his way in and the seasoned Bentley will be ‘2 Sharp’ and powerful for him.
Verdict: Bentley KO rounds 1-6.