LONDON — WBO president Gustavo Olivieri has denied middleweight champion Denzel Bentley’s appeal for a voluntary defence and ordered him to commit to facing mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez within 24 hours or vacate the title. The ruling leaves Bentley almost certain to be stripped by the end of tomorrow.
Bentley (22-3-1, 18 KO) was elevated from interim champion to full WBO middleweight champion after Janibek Alimkhanuly’s failed drug test and subsequent move to the super middleweight division. Bentley had claimed the interim belt against Endry Saavedra in April, with the elevation coming with the condition that he meet Hernandez (11-0, 9 KO). Negotiations for that mandated showdown failed to produce a contract and the bout went to purse bids.
With Bentley intending to move to Zuffa, Queensberry declined to participate in the purse bid, as did Zuffa. Hernandez’s promoters secured the rights with the minimum bid of $200,000, with 75% due to Bentley under the winning terms. Within days, Bentley announced a Zuffa debut against Shane Mosley Jr on 7 November and applied for a retroactive exception, which the WBO has now rejected. Per Dan Rafael, Bentley has a signed agreement in place to face Mosley Jr, a bout Olivieri confirmed would be more lucrative than the Hernandez defence under the purse bid terms.
Should Bentley vacate as expected, Hernandez will contest the vacant belt against the next available contender. Vito Mielnicki Jr sits at No.2 in the WBO rankings, followed by Tim Tszyu, Michael Zerafa and Fiodor Czerkaszyn.