By Ian S Palmer
Denzel Bentley of London, England defends his British Middleweight Title in his hometown this Saturday, April 15th as he takes on Kieran Smith of Livingston, Scotland. The 12-rounder can be seen live in America on ESPN+ while fans in the UK can catch it on BT Sport. Bentley last fought in November when he lost a unanimous decision to WBO Middleweight Champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly while Smith beat James McCarthy on points over six rounds in his last outing in October.
Bentley is 28 years old and has mark of 17-2-1 with 14 Ko’s and has boxed 80 rounds since making his pro debut in 2017. He stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with an unlisted reach and possesses better-than-average power with a current current knockout ratio of 70 per cent. 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 last May and then defended it by stopping Marcus Morrison in the fourth round four months later.
The Englishman’s 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 up to now and has never fought outside of the UK as a pro. He took a step up in class against Alimkhanuly the last time out and acquitted himself quite well.
As for Smith, he’s a 29-year-old southpaw who climbs into the ring with a record of 18-1 with 7 Ko’s and has boxed 93 rounds since making his pro debut in 2016. Before that, he had a pretty good amateur career and made it to the final of the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games and Great British National Championships. Smith is a good height for the middleweight division as he measures 6-feet-2-inches tall with an unlisted reach, so has a three-inch edge in height on Bentley.
Smith definitely doesn’t have the edge in power though as his current knockout ratio stands at just 36.8 per cent. His lone pro loss came at the hands of Troy Williamson in April, 2021 when he was stopped in the sixth round. Since turning pro he’s captured the vacant WBC International Silver Super Welterweight Title and has defended it twice. His biggest wins have been against Bradley Pryce, Ivan Montero, Vincenzo Bevilacqua and Gabor Gorbics.
Prediction…
Bentley and Smith are solid pros, but on the domestic and European level rather than the world stage. Bentley has the edge in power but will need to get inside against the rangy Smith. It should be a pretty good tussle and I’m giving Bentley the edge here as he’s fought tougher competition as of now.
