Boxing

No bad blood as Bentley and Dignum go head-to-head

DANNY Dignum is contemplating retirement if he doesn’t defeat Denzel Bentley on Saturday night. Those had been the phrases of the person himself as the pair met earlier as we speak to publicise their York Hall crossroads conflict on Saturday, May 11. 

The former world title challenger is piling the stress on himself to drag via in opposition to a neighborhood rival he has shared the sparring ring with quite a few instances through the years.

“We’re both good fighters, both sort of at a crossroads,” Dignum deliberated. “The winner goes on to large issues and the loser, nicely for me, it’s retirement as a result of I’m not within the rebuilding course of. 

“I don’t want to give up boxing, I want to carry on, so I have got to win this fight. I’ve trained so hard, but for me to rebuild or whatever, I don’t want to be doing that, so I must win this fight to carry on.”

Prior to his world title tilt in 2022, Dignum had amassed a 14-0-1 report principally at home degree. Fighting Janibek Alimkhanuly was simply too large of a soar in school and he was handled inside two rounds. This struggle, whereas a tricky task, is far more winnable if preparation matches expectation.

“If I turn up on the night, I believe I can win,” added Dignum (16-1-1, 9 KOs). “It’s alright me saying it, I’ve got to do it.”

Danny Dignum celebrates a earlier win on the York Hall (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Rejecting the notion of a bounce-back or comeback struggle, opponent Denzel Bentley is simply specializing in the truth that he’s concerned in a 50-50 contest. Promoter Frank Warren has labelled this as a must-win affair for Bentley following his shedding effort to Nathan Heaney final trip. An out-of-sorts Denzel surrendered his British title within the course of.

“Every fight’s a must-win fight. This isn’t a confidence booster or a feel-good fight, this is a real fight and after I beat Danny, I’ll feel good,” stated Bentley.

Conceding that his former sparring companion was an excellent beginner and is a talented skilled, Bentley reads nothing into Dignum’s show in opposition to widespread opponent Alimkhanuly referring to it as a slip-up. Faring a lot better when he fought Janibek -losing over 12 aggressive rounds – “2 Sharp” isn’t shopping for Danny’s retirement speak both.

“That’s his problem. I’m not buying into that stuff,” stated Bentley. “If he wants to retire, then good luck to him. He probably doesn’t believe in himself anymore, and this is a dangerous sport to be in. You can’t be one foot in, one foot out.”

The 18-3-1 (15 KOs) fighter from Battersea was requested what’s completely different now as against the turmoil of the Heaney build-up.

“A clear mindset,” smiled Bentley, who’s hoping to hold that degree of readability into the York Hall on Saturday night.

On the undercard, Ryan Garner meets former British super-featherweight champion Liam Dillon in a 10-round WBC International title conflict.

“I had two good back-to-back wins and then I was supposed to fight [Anthony] Cacace. He pulled out through injury, then I got injured, so let’s get the ball rolling again,” stated a constructive Garner. 

A struggle with Archie Sharp, who was sitting subsequent to Garner, has been talked about. There’s no beef between the pair and it’s information to the 14-0 Southampton fighter, but when the whole lot is sensible, he’s on board.

“That’s the first I’ve heard about it,” stated “The Piranha”. 

“Things get talked about behind closed doors, but I was speaking to Archie and we get along well. It’s business at the end of the day; it’s boxing. We are just here to provide for our families first and foremost.”


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