Denzel Bentley Wants Chris Eubank Jr for His First WBO Title Defence

Denzel Bentley didn't waste any time picking his ideal dance partner. Days after being upgraded from interim to full WBO middleweight champion, the 31-year-old has publicly offered Chris Eubank Jr a shot at his belt — a fight that would hand the 36-year-old his first world title after years of chasing one.

Bentley, now 22-3-1 with 18 knockouts, inherited the full strap after Janibek Alimkhanuly vacated it while serving a 12-month suspension for a doping violation late last year. Bentley had already claimed the interim version in April with a seventh-round stoppage of Endry Saavedra, so the promotion made sense. Now he owes a voluntary defence, and he'd rather it come against a name British fans actually know.

The Name Game

Speaking to talkSPORT, Bentley was refreshingly honest about the business side. He admitted he barely knew top contender Yoenli Hernandez until he won the belt himself, calling the Cuban a quality fighter — as most Cubans are — but not a box-office draw. Eubank Jr, by contrast, is a domestic dust-up that sells. Bentley said Eubank has always talked about becoming a world champion, and this would be his chance to finally do it.

There's one obvious problem: Eubank Jr may not want to be anywhere near 160lbs again. He hasn't fought since November's rematch with Conor Benn, a wide unanimous-decision loss that avenged his April 2025 win in their first meeting. Both times the weight looked like the real opponent, and the second bout — at the same 160lb limit with a 10lb rehydration clause — left him visibly drained.

A move up to super-middleweight has looked like the logical next step for a while, especially with Eubank now 36 and unlikely to hang around much longer. Bentley knows that, which is why his offer came with a condition attached: he wants the fight if Eubank is still competing at middleweight. That's a big if.

The other complication is Hernandez, the No.1 contender who's yet to be officially installed as mandatory. If the WBO forces that order, Bentley's preference for the Eubank payday could get overruled fast. For now, though, the champion has made his pitch — and left the ball firmly in Eubank Jr's court.