Denzel Bentley defeats Brad Pauls to become three-time British champion

Denzel Bentley defeats Brad Pauls for British and European titles

Brad Pauls (19-2-1, 11KO) lost in his maiden British middleweight title defence to the experienced Denzel Bentley (29-3-1, 17KO), who became a three-time champion with the unanimous decision win.

The powerful pair exchanged some early bombs in the opening rounds. Bentley's jab looked sharp and stinging.

They were so evenly matched, Pauls having success with his overhand right and straight body shots. He was the more dominant of the two in the middle rounds, really looking good in rounds eight and nine, which clearly lit a fire in Bentley when he turned up the tempo in the 10th.

Bentley landed a jab that was so stiff and strong, Pauls was forced to take a knee in the final minute of the 10th round. The Battersea boxer tried to close the show, but 'The Newquay Bomb' withstood the pressure, well known for his durability and fighting spirit.

The final scores were: 117-110, 116-111, 115-112.

Bentley made history as one of only four boxers in history to be crowned a three-time British middleweight champion. He also retained his WBO International belt and his WBO #1 status, as well as scooping up the vacant European title.

His name will go down in the boxing history books along with legends Alan Minter, Herol Graham and Ted 'Kid' Lewis.

Post-fight, Pauls showed his respect by telling Denzel to "Go get that world title", to which the champion replied, "Big respect to you".

Pauls spent much of his career on the small hall scene, but the 31-year-old has enjoyed a fantastic year with three British title fights all ending in different outcomes - a draw, win, loss.

The likeable fighter from Cornwall has proven he is a British level boxer and is here to stay. His breakout year has earned him a WBO #2 and WBA #5 world ranking.

For 29-year-old Bentley, a second world title shot awaits. He was outpointed by Janibek Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11KO) for the WBO World middleweight title back in November 2022. The Kazakh is now a unified champion after adding the IBF belt with a sixth round KO over unbeaten German Vincenzo Gualtieri in 2023.

Trained by Martin Bowers at the Peacock Gym, Briton Bentley is ranked WBO #1, so will be able to force a mandatory title shot to former rival Alimkhanuly.

Since their first fight, Bentley has scored three quick KOs and sports a fearsome 80.95%KO ratio.

Sam Noakes vs Ryan Walsh

Maidstone's heavy-hitter Sam Noakes (16-0, 14KO) prediction came true as he triumphed over veteran Ryan Walsh on points.

Two scorecards gave every round to the defending British, Commonwealth and WBO International lightweight champion.

Noakes is ranked WBO #3 and WBC #10, which will improve in next month's rankings.

Undercard

Sam's older brother, Sean Noakes (9-0) defended his English welterweight title to Mathew Rennie (14-0-1) on the undercard.

Promising prospect Solomon Dacres (9-1) was caught cold with a leaping left hook from the powerful David Adeleye in the first round. 'The Real Deal', 31 from West Midlands, bravely attempted to get back up but his legs were too wobbly to continue, forcing referee Darren Sarginson to stop the contest.

Newest recruit, Lawrence Okolie (21-1) stopped Hussein Muhamed (18-2) in the first round in his Queesnberry debut.