Denzel Bentley moved to 17-1-1 tonight at the prestigious York Hall in the headliner of Queensberry Promotions’ card live on BT Sport. Bentley scored a fourth-round technical knockout over Manchester’s Marcus Morrison, now 25-6. Morrison’s trainer Joe Gallagher compassionately threw in the towel after multiple unanswered, clean flurries from Bentley.
The victory on September 16, 2022, marked a successful first defense of Bentley’s second reign as British middleweight champion, a title he had reclaimed by defeating Linus Udofia in May 2022. Coming into the bout, Bentley, known as ‘2Sharp’, had established himself as a formidable presence in the domestic middleweight division, boasting a record that reflected his power and growing experience. Morrison, meanwhile, entered the contest with a respectable record, having faced notable opponents throughout his career, including Chris Eubank Jr. in 2021. This fight at York Hall was a significant opportunity for Morrison to challenge for the prestigious Lonsdale belt, a goal he had long pursued.
Marcus Morrison started the fight well with Bentley as usual, slow to get off the mark and this allowed the Manchester fighter to assert himself in the first two minutes of the opening round. Bentley came back in the last minute though and backed Morrison up. Indeed, the first round was a pulsating affair, with both fighters exchanging heavy blows. Bentley appeared momentarily hurt by a Morrison right hand, but quickly recovered, setting the tone for a competitive encounter.
The second was ultra-competitive with virtually nothing to split them. Fans were treated with constant back and forth throughout the round, Bentley’s work more eye-catching and sporadic with Morrison more consistent throughout. Despite Morrison bleeding as early as the second round, the action remained frantic, with Bentley landing a cracking right hand that the challenger absorbed well.
In the third, Morrison noticeably slowed down and found too much comfort with his back being on the ropes, allowing Bentley to do what he does best: unloading at will. With very little return from Morrison, the tide of the fight changed and Bentley looked to be in control. Bentley’s body shots began to take their toll, hurting Morrison towards the end of the round.
That didn’t change in the fourth round and after little answer from Morrison for Bentley’s punches for almost a minute, the Morrison team rightly decided that their boxer was getting unnecessarily hurt and stopped the contest. Joe Gallagher’s decision to throw in the towel at 2 minutes and 51 seconds of the fourth round was a compassionate one, preventing further damage to Morrison, whose face was visibly busted up.
Bentley’s World Title Challenge and British Dominance
Denzel Bentley told NoSmokeBoxing in an exclusive interview, after successfully defending his British middleweight title, that he is now looking for bigger challenges past domestic level. His aspirations quickly led him to the world stage. Less than three months after his victory over Morrison, Bentley travelled to Las Vegas to challenge the formidable Janibek Alimkhanuly for the WBO Middleweight title on November 12, 2022. Despite a valiant effort and pushing the Kazakh champion for twelve rounds, Bentley ultimately lost by unanimous decision, with scores of 118-110, 118-110, and 116-112.
Bentley returned to the domestic scene, successfully defending his British title against Kieran Smith in April 2023 with a spectacular 45-second knockout at the Copper Box Arena. However, his third reign as British champion was cut short on November 18, 2023, when he suffered a majority decision loss to the undefeated Nathan Heaney in Manchester. Undeterred, Bentley quickly rebuilt, securing the vacant WBO International middleweight title with a second-round stoppage of Danny Dignum at York Hall on May 11, 2024, and then defending it against Derrick Osaze with another second-round knockout at the same venue on August 17, 2024.
His journey back to the top of the British scene culminated on December 7, 2024, when he faced Brad Pauls at Wembley Arena. In a highly anticipated contest that also served as a WBO world middleweight title eliminator, Bentley delivered a dominant performance to win by unanimous decision, becoming a three-time British middleweight champion and also claiming the vacant European title. After a 16-month period of inactivity, during which he even considered alternative employment, Bentley made a significant return on April 4, 2026, at The O2 Arena. He stopped Endry Saavedra in the seventh round to win the vacant interim WBO middleweight title, once again positioning himself for a shot at the full world title. Bentley’s current professional record stands at 22 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw, with 18 knockouts.
The Ascent of Hamzah Sheeraz
Hamzah Sheeraz is also with Warren/Queensberry and a fight between the pair has been discussed by fans for the better part of this year as soon as Sheeraz made the move up in weight classes. The article noted that Brad Pauls and River Wilson-Bent had been ordered to fight in an eliminator for the 160-pound Lonsdale belt. While that specific eliminator did not materialise as initially envisioned, Hamzah Sheeraz’s trajectory in the middleweight division has been nothing short of meteoric.
Sheeraz, an undefeated prospect, quickly established himself as a dominant force. On November 26, 2022, he defended his WBC Silver middleweight title and captured the vacant Commonwealth middleweight belt by stopping River Wilson-Bent in the second round at The O2 Arena. This impressive victory against Wilson-Bent, who was also a contender for the Lonsdale belt, showcased Sheeraz’s destructive power. He continued his knockout streak, stopping Dmytro Mytrofanov in the second round in August 2023 and Liam Williams in the first round in February 2024, further solidifying his status.
Sheeraz’s ambitions extended beyond British and Commonwealth titles. On June 1, 2024, he secured a significant 11th-round technical knockout victory over Austin Williams in a WBC middleweight title eliminator in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He then added the European title to his collection by stopping Tyler Denny in the second round in September 2024, before vacating it in anticipation of a world title shot. Sheeraz challenged WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames on February 22, 2025, in Riyadh, a fight that controversially ended in a split draw. Following this, Sheeraz moved up to super middleweight, making a powerful statement by stopping Edgar Berlanga in five rounds in New York on July 12, 2025. With a current record of 22 wins, 0 losses, and 1 draw, with 18 knockouts, Sheeraz is slated to face Alem Begic on May 23, 2026, as he continues to target major names in the super middleweight division.
British Middleweight Landscape: Subsequent Battles
A matchup between Bentley and Sheeraz would be a big domestic affair, especially in London and even now
