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Denzel Bentley, the reigning British middleweight champion, will defend his title against Kieran Smith on April 15th, as part of the undercard for the heavyweight showdown between Joe Joyce and Zhilei Zhang. The event will take place at the Copper Box Arena in London and will be broadcast live on BT Sport.
Bentley, who fights out of the Peacock Gym, won back his Lonsdale belt in a vacant title fight against Linus Udofia, before successfully defending it against Marcus Morrison. His world title tilt against Janibek Alimkhanuly in November proved unsuccessful, but Bentley remains a formidable opponent.
Smith, who hails from Scotland, has had a productive career as a super welterweight, including winning the WBC International Silver championship and making two successful defenses. However, his run came to a halt in April 2021 when he was stopped by Troy Williamson. Smith will now compete at middleweight in his upcoming bout against Bentley.
In addition to the main event, the card will also feature a defense of the Commonwealth super bantamweight title by Dennis McCann, who won the title by defeating Joe Ham. McCann will also defend his WBC International Silver and Commonwealth lightweight titles, along with Queensberry iBox Gym teammate Sam Noakes.
Young and up-and-coming fighters, Sonny Liston Ali and Joel Kodua, will also be featured in the undercard, in super lightweight and super welterweight bouts, respectively.
Promoter Frank Warren says that the British middleweight title fight will be a great addition to the heavyweight collision between Joyce and Zhang. He added that there will be at least one more exciting addition to the card, and tickets will go on sale on February 15th. Warren is looking forward to seeing Bentley maintain his momentum in meaningful British title fights, while Smith intends to knock him off-course. With the inclusion of promising young fighters, the undercard of the Joyce-Zhang showdown is shaping up to be a thrilling event.
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