The inter promotional contest on top of the latest Frank Warren and Queensberry promotions bill went the way of Matchroom’s Felix Cash, who added Denzel Bentley’s British Middleweight title to his Commonwealth belt with a ruthless third round stoppage win at York Hall, Bethnal Green on Saturday.
There were plenty of stories of previous sparring sessions and bad blood between the two before the fight, and Cash was the one that walked away with the bragging rights, taking Bentley’s unbeaten record in the process.
Both men started off on the attack, and Cash (14-0, 10 KOs) clipped Bentley (14-1-1, 12 KOs) within the first minute with a right hand.
The 28-year-old controlled the action in the main in a busy first round.
After a quiet second round, the contest exploded into life in round three, and, with just over a minute gone of the frame, Cash unloaded with flush shots, and referee Victor Loughlin stepped in to call a halt to proceedings, with the Wokingham resident adding the Lonsdale belt to his Commonwealth crown.
“I stunned him in the first round, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I stunned him again,” said an overjoyed Cash to BT Sport post-fight.
“I started relaxing more as the fight went on, and I walked through him and finished the job. He wasn’t as awkward as I though he was gong to be.
Ruthless from Felix Cash!💥
He stops Denzel Bentley in the third to add the British Middleweight Title to his Commonwealth crown 🏆#BentleyCash #FightNightLive pic.twitter.com/MfCPJtNe0c
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) April 24, 2021
“I want the European title now and then I’ll move on. I was a level above, and I showed that in the ring tonight.”
Johnson returns with a second round win
Lincolnshire Light Heavyweight Callum Johnson made his second Queensberry Promotions debut, and shrugged off over two years of frustration to pick up the vacant WBO Global title, stopping Emil Markic in two rounds.
Johnson (19-1, 14 KOs), who re-signed with Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren in February was last seen in a ring in March 2019, stopping Sean Monaghan in three rounds, and he was keen to make up for lost time here.
After dominating the first half of the opening round, Johnson walked on to a hard right hook from Markic (32-3, 24 KOs) that stopped him in his tracks, dipped his knees and bloodied his nose, but ‘The One’ recovered well to regain control.
It didn’t take long for the conclusion, as the 35-year-old trapped the Croat on the ropes towards the end of the second, and, with nothing coming back from the visitor, referee Steve Gray stepped in to call a halt to proceedings, just as the 38-year-old dipped on the ropes.
Johnson named WBO Light Heavyweight champion, Joe Smith Jr as a potential opponent both before and after the fight.
Adeleye edges past Sokolowski
Kamil Sokolowski was expected to give David Adeleye the toughest test of his career to date, and the Barnstaple-based Pole did just that, as the Londoner took a barely deserved 58-57 verdict on the referee’s scorecard.
Sokolowski (10-22-2, 4 KOs) was his usual experienced self, and constantly put pressure on Adeleye, who struggled to make an impression in the early rounds.
It was hard to make a case for the 24-year-old being declared the victor, but he improved to 6-0 (5 KOs) as a result of his closely run win.
Henry Turner took his Super Lightweight affair with Clayton Bracknell (3-4-1) moving to 5-0 with a convincing points win over six rounds.
Turner controlled the action in the main, and took a 60-54 verdict for referee, Michael Alexander.
At Super Welterweight, George Davey took a competitive six round points win against Jamie Stewart (2-2-1) who had previously beaten Michael Hennessy Jr and drawn with Florian Marku.
Davey (4-0) came through 59-56 on referee Marcus McDonnell’s scorecard.
Karol Itauma (2-0, 1 KO) dropped Ryan Hubert (1-9) three times on the way to a first round win in their clash at Light Heavyweight, while Owen Cooper (4-0, 1 KO) knocked out Daryl Pearce (1-12) inside a round in their Welterweight encounter.
At Middleweight, James Heneghan (5-0) took a four round points win against Dwain Grant (3-9-1).
