Denzel Bentley won the British middleweight title after leaving his opponent with an eye so swollen he couldn't see out of it
- Denzel Bentley clobbered Mark Heffron's eye socket until it was so swollen their Friday fight had to be stopped.
- After the fourth-round retirement victory, Bentley was awarded with the British middleweight title.
- Bentley is trained by one of Britain's best boxing coaches Martin Bowers, and is a teammate of the knockout heavyweight puncher Daniel Dubois.
- Watch the highlights of Bentley's victory at the BT Sport Studios in London below.
Denzel Bentley won the British middleweight title after leaving his opponent with an eye so swollen he could hardly see out of it.
The boxing match took place Friday at the behind-closed-doors BT Sport Studio in London and was called off after four rounds as Mark Heffron was forced to retire on his stool.
The bout was a rematch from a 10-round September duel in which both fighters left the ring with a draw.
Two months later, there was a more conclusive finish as heavy leather thrown in the second-round caused a brutal lump which affected Heffron's sight with every minute which passed.
Bentley boxed well, with precision, from a loose guard. He'd take steps back to evade Heffron's lead shots, occasionally ducking under a more powerful strike, while now and then he was caught flush with hook shots.
When it came to his attack, he popped single shots to the face in the opening round, throwing body shots in for good measure.
The second-round was the game-changer as Bentley became more comfortable throwing textbook one-two combinations — the orthodox jab and the straight right hand — repeatedly landing strikes and aggravating the bruising below Heffron's left, bloodshot, eye.
Watch the fight highlights here:
"I knew I was hurting him with the right hand, I saw the reaction, and put him on the backfoot," Bentley said after the win, according to Boxing Scene.
"The last fight, he didn't go back once, but the last fight I wasn't putting my shots together like that, I thought I could move and win it a bit easier.
"This time I knew I had to stay there, hold my ground, and put in the big shots. I felt stronger, I felt better in the gym. I knew if I held my ground, I knew I would be able to take him out."
Bentley is one of several top prospects from London's historic Peacock Gym and is a talent nurtured by one of Britain's best boxing coaches Martin Bowers.
Bentley, an undefeated 160-pounder, advanced his pro boxing record to 14 wins (12 knockouts) and one draw this weekend, pushing himself further toward the world's top-15 fighters in the division — seemingly only one year behind where his teammate Dubois finds himself today.
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