Queensberry Promotions returns to London’s York Hall on May 11th when Denzel Bentley and Danny Dignam headline a middleweight showdown with serious consequences for both men.
Bentley looked like a fighter on the rise at 18-3-1 (15 KOs) until a lackluster performance in December cost him the British title to Nathan Heaney. He made his first world championship appearance in November 2022 and grew in confidence through his fight with current IBF and WBO champion Janibek Alimkanuri, putting heavy pressure on the Kazakh in the second half of the fight. The 29-year-old says he knows why it didn’t work out against Heaney and insists he needs to remind people exactly what he’s capable of.
Six months before Bentley, Dignam, 16-1-1 (9 KOs), traveled to the United States to fight Alim Kanuri. He wasn’t doing so well. He suffered a loss in the second round, ending his undefeated record. The 32-year-old won an ABA title before turning pro, but has always been on the fringes of the domestic scene.
While the fight between the two is a solid domestic matchup, both Bentley and Dignam are aware of the impact another loss would have on their careers. A comprehensive loss for either pair could have a devastating impact on their future world title hopes.
Bentley And Dignum Fight To Put Alimkhanuly In The Past On May 11 https://t.co/mR3t6D7paI
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) April 5, 2024
Nathaniel Collins has the chance to join the European title race. In the span of 14 fights, the 27-year-old featherweight won the Celtic, Commonwealth and British titles, fending off undefeated Zach Miller’s determined demands to retain the belt after a thrilling 12 rounds in November. did.
Collins, 14-0 (7 KOs), has been vocal about his desire to move up the weight class and was scheduled to defend his British title against mandatory challenger Hopey Price, but the Yorkshireman’s injured hand As a result, we were forced to postpone it. The fitness fanatic is not going to sit idle and will take on Italy’s Francesco Grandelli.
Grandelli is 18-2-2 (4 KOs) and has had an up-and-down career. He defeated British super featherweight champion Rhys Belotti in 2019, but was stopped within one round by compatriot Mauro Forte in a fight for the vacant European title in May. In the super featherweight division, Ryan “The Piranha” Garner will take on former British champion Liam Dillon.
Garner, 14-0 (8 KOs), has been regarded as one of Britain’s most precocious talents, but he has never been able to gain momentum. For years he has been hampered by bad luck and bad decisions, but in recent times the talented 26-year-old has settled down and shown his true potential. Last August, he put in the best performance of his career, stopping Spaniard Juan Antunez in three rounds, but Dillon, 13-1-1 (3 KOs), will need to improve again to withstand the pressure. There will be a need.
Dillon, 28, knows only one way to fight. He sets a fast pace and tries to wear down Garner before overpowering him later in the match. The former Southerner and English champion won the British title with a split decision win over Qais Ashfaq last July, but lost the title in February to Belotti in a thrilling 12-round match.
