Things you didn't know about Denzel Bentley

Denzel Bentley facts

Denzel “2Sharp” Bentley (20-3-1, 17KO) always said he wants to be remembered as a British boxing legend, which he certainly will be after winning three Lonsdale belts.

But now that he is a world champion, he will be looking to leave a lasting legacy even further afield from his humble beginnings in south London.

So who is Denzel Bentley, for those across the globe who may not know the British hero as well as his compatriots do? Find out everything you need to know about the middleweight star below.

Who is Denzel Bentley?

Denzel Bentley Ntim-Mensah was born on 29 January 1995 in Battersea, London.

He only started boxing at the age of 15, when he and his brother, Hayden, would box with friends outside on their local Patmore council estate.

Denzel’s younger brother, Nathan Owusu, now 28, started competing as an amateur when he was 25 and won his first two bouts by first-round knockout.

Denz only stepped foot inside a boxing gym for the first time at around 17-years-old when a friend took him to Fisher ABC in London.

He had his first amateur fight aged 19, and went on to have 17 bouts in a vest.

Bentley switched from Fisher ABC to the Peacock Gym in Canning Town halfway through his three-year-long amateur boxing career.

Denz turned pro at 22 in 2017, just five years after visiting a boxing club for the first time.

Bentley made his professional debut on 14 October 2017, scoring a first-round KO over journeyman Casey Blair at the York Hall in London, a local venue to him that he would fight at another eight times.

His first two pro bouts both ended at the exact same time - 44 seconds.

The first three bouts all ended via first-round KO, and he went on to score a total of seven round one knockouts during his career, and six in round two.

Promoter Frank Warren signed Denzel Bentley in 2019 after he took a fight on one of his shows at four hours notice – winning by first-round knockout – even though he had trained earlier that same morning and completed 10 rounds of sparring in the same day.

Denzel Bentley is now a three-time British middleweight champion (2020, 2022, 2024) and one of only three boxers in history to achieve this feat. Kevin Finnegan (1974, 1977, 1979) and Tony Sibson (1979, 1984, 1987) are the other two history-makers.

Bentley's first British title win was in November 2020 against Mark Heffron. You could hear a pin drop as he stopped Heffron in the fourth round... because there was no one in the crowd, it took place behind closed doors in the BT Sport TV Studios in London.

Back in front of the crowds when restrictions were lifted five months later, Bentley lost his British belt to Felix Cash in the third round at the York Hall.

A year later, Bentley won the belt back with a split decision over Luton's Linus Udofia.

In November 2022, he challenged for the WBO World middleweight title in Las Vegas, but was outpointed by the reigning champion, Janibek Alimkhanuly.

His 45-seconds KO victory over highly-rated Kieran Smith in April 2023 is the fastest recorded British middleweight championship win in history.

In his third defence of his second British title reign, he was defeated by Stoke's popular Nathan Heaney via mixed decision in November 2023.

Denzel became a father prior to that in October 2023. The due date was expected later, which would have fallen after his fight with Nathan Heaney. However, his son Cairo turned up six weeks early and spent 10 days in intensive care, weighing just 3lbs.

When the new parents finally got their baby boy home for the first time, new father Denzel had to abruptly leave for fight week in Manchester, but spent the entire time distracted with concerns for his newborn baby. Constantly worried, he was outpointed by the challenger Heaney and forced to return home to his family belt-less.

Thankfully, his son Cairo is now one-years-old and very healthy and happy. The proud father reflected, “He was in intensive care for about 10 days and it was just gym-hospital-home. I stopped everything else, nothing else mattered. I genuinely did not want to be there [in Manchester], I wanted to be home with my son. But I had to crack on and I underestimated Nathan [Heaney] because I thought I could beat him on my worst day.”

Bentley has been trained by Martin Bowers his entire professional career, and was signed to promoter Frank Warren for over seven years 2019-2026.

Bentley has won eight middleweight titles during his pro career so far: 3x British / WBO International / European / WBA Continental / WBO Interim / WBO World.

His boxing idol is Floyd Mayweather, and admits that Adrien Broner was an early influence on him. He respects British boxers like Anthony Joshua, Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn.

The Battersea boxer is a big supporter of anti-knife crime charities, giving up his free time to support the movement in his local areas of London. It's a cause that's close to his heart after suffering the loss of close friends to knife crime.

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Quotes

Beginnings...

“I started boxing late. When I first started watching boxing, I was watching Floyd Mayweather and Adrien Broner, that’s the guys that kind of got me interested in the sport.

“Of course, as time goes on, you start watching British boxing, like Anthony Joshua, then you go back to the Chris Eubanks and the Nigel Benns.

“If I didn’t find boxing, I don’t know where I’d be, if I’m being honest.

“A lot of my friends growing up were stabbed. Some survived, some didn’t. It made me feel like maybe I could be a victim. When I found boxing, that was my safe place.”

Legacies...

“I want to be able to put on great fights for fans all over the world, but especially here in the UK, and I want to be remembered for the fights that I’ve had. I don’t necessarily want to be a celebrity, but I want to be remembered for the nights I’ve made for the public, and, if I can do that, then I’ve had a good career.

“In doing that, I know I need to win titles, become a world champion, and put on exciting nights and be able to fight anyone they put in front of me.

“If I’m 50-years-old one day and someone’s talking about, ‘Oh, remember Denzel Bentley vs so-and-so…’ and kids are watching me for inspiration and stuff; I’d like that.”

Battersea...

“Yeah, well because I’ve lived there all my life, so a lot of people in the area know me,” he explained. “You might get the by-passers that probably saw me as a street kid at one point, now looking at me and recognising me and saying, ‘Ah, I saw you on TV the other day. It’s so good to see you’re doing something positive and something good with yourself’, so I am getting recognised a lot more.

“The local shopkeepers obviously know me from being around all the time, but now they’re appreciating me for my talents and what I do, they’re always asking me about my next fight. They’re allowing me to put posters in the shop window, so people show me appreciation for what I’m doing.

“It’s nice to see. A lot of people want to show support, and it just brings a lot of positive energy around me, which I like.

“I might be standing outside my block, where I used to live, and I remember one time my friend came around to get a picture with me and my WBO International title; I went down for two seconds and ended up being out there for half-an-hour when people just kept coming past and saying ‘can I get a picture?’

“But its good to be appreciated in my area, whereas probably 10 years ago, before I started boxing, I was just seen as another street kid causing trouble, but now I’m being approached by the same people in the same area and it’s now ‘well done, congratulations’.

“It’s mad though, because where I’m living here, I don’t appreciate it, but then when people come and tell me what I’m doing and how it looks, that’s when I kind of step back and say, ‘oh yeah, ok, wow!’

“I’m living in the same area, so I feel like the same guy, I don’t feel like I’m a superstar.”

The A-Team...

“To me, it means a lot. People are always complaining that there’s no loyalty in boxing, but I’ve found a home in boxing.

“Martin and Tony [Bowers] at the Peacock Gym welcomed me with open arms. They’re open to everyone, as long as you give it your best, they’re happy. They’re there every day, so all I can do is give my best and that’s how I pay him back. My way of paying him back is by doing the best I can, and that includes winning the world title.

“Because of Martin, I’m with Frank Warren, and he’s put a lot of trust and belief in me; put me in certain fights where I fell short, but we’re still going strong today.

“You see a lot of fighters take a loss and they go missing, but this time last year I lost to Heaney, and I’ve headlined fights already. Coming off a loss, I headlined two shows, and now I’m headlining my third one at the beginning of next month, so if that doesn’t show belief and loyalty then I don’t know what does.

“So, I’m happy where I am, I put a lot of effort into me, and I owe Martin a lot, but I’ve shown him loyalty and he’s given me his time, and I think we work well together as well. I’m happy that I found the Peacock Gym and I’ve stayed there my whole career.”