Brad Pauls vs Denzel Bentley Predictions: Middleweights meet with one eye on the world

Brad Pauls defends the British middleweight championship against Denzel Bentley at Wembley Arena on Saturday, December 7. The fight headlines the latest ‘Magnificent 7’ card from Queensberry Promotions with TNT Sports broadcasting live. The vacant European middleweight belt will also be on the line.

Here are my Pauls vs Bentley predictions ahead of this domestic dust-up.

Bentley probably did not expect to be in this position at this stage in his career. While British champion, ‘2 Sharp’ stepped up in class against WBO (and now IBF) middleweight king Janibek Alimkhanuly. He acquitted himself well over the course of 12 championship rounds, coming on strong as the fight progressed.

Alimkhanuly held him off and took a deserved unanimous decision victory, but Bentley had turned heads and proved he could hang with the best. It felt like only a matter of time before further big fighters were heading the Londoner’s way.

A spectacular first-round knockout of Smith in defence of his British title seemed to solidify that view. But while Bentley waited for opportunities at the top end of the middleweight division to materialise, he took on a fateful bout with Nathan Heaney.

The wildly-popular man was unbeaten going in, but largely viewed as a ticket-shifting local hero of Stoke rather someone to challenge the best. But the likeable ‘Hitman’ made a mockery of such assertions, scoring a majority decision win over Bentley.

Bentley has rebuilt with quick wins over Danny Dignum and Derrick Osaze, but Pauls is his toughest test since the upset. Now he takes on a man who has had his own battles with Heaney.

It was Pauls that Heaney would face in the immediate aftermath of his surprise title win. Their first match-up went to a draw on the scorecards. Pauls went one better in the rematch, stopping Heaney in the 12th round to win the British championship. Now ‘The Newquay Bomb’ must aim to close the circle against the man Heaney won the title from in the first place.

Along with the British and European belts, the WBO international middleweight title is on the line. Usually I would not highlight a spurious sanctioning body trinket like this, but in this case it has significance. Bentley and Pauls are currently ranked numbers one and two respectively by the WBO. This serves as a de facto eliminator for Alimkhanuly’s world title, with the winner sitting pretty as number-one contender.

Pauls’ main concern will be avoiding the power of Bentley. ‘2 Sharp’ has stopped 17 of his 20 victims with a patient, rangy style that can be lethal. Pauls likes to come forward and get involved, but his strength is in volume-punching rather than one-shot knockout power.

This could play into Bentley’s hands. The champion’s active style will give the challenger plenty of room to score counters. Of course, if ‘2 Sharp’ waits too long he could find himself down on the cards. This fight will be all about balance for both men. Bentley picking his shots. Pauls trying to run up a lead before that power becomes a factor. Interesting styles match-up this one.

Pauls vs Bentley Fight Odds

Pauls is a slight underdog at 6/5 while Bentley is your favourite, priced at 4/6. The draw is marketed at 14/1.

Pauls vs Bentley Full Card

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Pauls vs Bentley Prediction

This is a really good bout on paper. Bentley’s pop and patience. Pauls’ activity and pressure. I think I prefer the former. There is a sense Pauls could build a lead before getting cracked with something fight-ending.

I’m going for the Bentley knockout here at 13/8. I just feel like ‘2 Sharp’ will be exactly that, finding a shot from the gods to end this fight before 12 rounds have elapsed.

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