LONDON – Denzel Bentley claimed the WBO interim middleweight title with a seventh-round finish of Venezuela’s Endry Saavedra at London’s O2 Arena.
The ‘interim’ strap was on the line due to IBF and WBO champion Janibek Alimkhanuly testing positive for the banned substance meldonium in December. Janibek was stripped of his IBF strap but the WBO chose to suspend the champion for one year. Both men fought like they were fighting for the full-version of the world title, and in many people’s eyes they were. Saavedra pushed Bentley all the way and was probably up on the cards heading into the seventh. It was then that a sharp right hand buckled the legs of Saavedra with his back against the ropes. Bentley, 31, followed up his attack by sending in a barrage of straight shots which forced the referee Darren Sarginson to wave off the contest at 1:38 of Round 7.
“Let’s get one thing straight, I’m a world champion,” said Bentley, now 22-3-1 (18 KOs), following the contest. “[Janibek] is a world champion, but he ain’t even allowed to fight right now. No disrespect to anyone, but I don’t respect PED cheats round here. Do you see ‘interim’ on this [my belt]? No. This is going to my house, where my son can say his dad is a world champion.”
Despite Bentley’s emphatic finish, it was Saavedra that started the brighter of the two. The 34-year-old was aggressive from the off, and was able to land heavy blows on Bentley when pressing Bentley back. Bentley’s jab continued to keep Saavedra honest, but Saavedra was turning out to be a handful for the Londoner. Round by round Bentley became more comfortable with Saavedra's aggressive style, and started to pick him off in the fourth. Saavedra was not deterred either and although he was getting caught by Bentley’s long levers, he was landing the more eye-catching work.
The bout was a close one after six completed rounds, with the hard shots by Saavedra probably edging the contest in his favour. Bentley came out for Round 7 with more intent, snapping the head back of Saavedra with a jab. Bentley continued to turn up the heat, with a right hand stunning Saavedra when his back was against the ropes. Bentley smelled blood and sensed an opportunity to stop Saavedra. He fired in a barrage of straight punches that all landed on Saavedra. His head bounced around from the punches coming his way, and with the ropes only holding Saavedra up, the referee Sarginson rescued the now 17-2-1 (14 KOs) Saavedra.
Viddal Riley claimed the European cruiserweight title with a win over veteran Mateusz Masternak. The bout also served as an eliminator for the IBF title which recently became vacant due to champion Jai Opetaia being stripped for fighting under the Zuffa Boxing banner. Riley, now 14-0 (7 KOs), was in control from the off, and the ageing Masternak just couldn’t keep up with his younger foe. Riley’s speed was a real issue for the 38-year-old, with Masternak getting tagged nearly every time Riley would let his hands go. Riley made the first real dent in Masternak with an overhand right in Round 2 that forced the Pole to cover up.
Masternak landed a nice right hand of his own in the fifth which seemed to aggravate Riley. The 28-year-old slammed in a shot to Masternak’s midsection that brought a wince from the then-champion. Riley seemed to sense a weakness to Masternak’s body and continued to target it, thumping in a left hand to the ribs in Round 7. By the ninth it looked as though Masternak had accepted that it just wasn’t his night, and was looking to just finish the contest on his feet.
Riley was excellent throughout, but if there was one criticism of him it was that he just couldn’t find a home for the shot to end proceedings. Riley tried to find a home for his overhand right in the later rounds, but the experienced Masternak always managed to cover up. Masternak, now 50-7 (33 KOs), had his best round of the contest in the 12th. In what could be the final session of his career, the 38-year-old gave it one last go, landing a right hand that wobbled Riley slightly. The cards read 118-110, twice and 119-109, all in favour of Riley.
The heavyweight Matty Harris impressively finished Franklin Ignatius inside two rounds. There were questions over Harris, now 10-1 (7 KOs), heading into the contest with memories still lingering of the 26-year-old being stopped by Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko in 2023. Since then, Harris has linked up with trainer Peter Fury, and he looked outstanding in Saturday’s contest against Ignatius, 30. Harris probed his jab into Ignatius’ face from range and slammed in his right hand. Harris’ power looked impressive and hurt Ignatius in the opener. Harris would go on to end proceedings in the second, catching Ignatius with a short right hand that sent his foe face first into the canvas after just 20 seconds. Ignatius fell to 9-2-1 (1 KO) with the defeat.
Before then, New York’s Amir Anderson inflicted a five round beat down on Jordan Dujon to move to 7-0 (7 KOs). Anderson started quickly, and poured the pressure on Dujon from the opening session. Anderson had Dujon in bad shape right from the off, and it seemed only a matter of time before the contest was stopped. The end came in the fifth when Anderson again had Dujon trapped in the corner, with the referee jumping in to save the now 10-7 Dujon.
The junior welterweight Ashton “H2O” Sylve defeated Raul Antonio Galaviz Hernandez by unanimous decision. Sylve was given a tough night’s work by his Mexican foe, but impressively adapted to take the contest by scores of 78-74 and 80-72, twice.
