Denzel Bentley recognizes the value in Conor Benn and offers him a route back

Denzel Bentley is willing to open the door to Conor Benn at middleweight and offer him a shot at his WBO middleweight belt.

Benn lost in two rounds to WBC welterweight boss Ryan Garcia last weekend in a title chance few believed he deserved. After all, it wasn’t just that Benn not fought at 147lbs for more than four years, it was also the lack of a victory over a leading welterweight – at least at the time of facing them – on his record.

But Benn, who has had an incredibly lucrative year thanks to his union with Zuffa Boxing, could still likely command significant interest at the box office – which is something not lost on Bentley.

Compared to Benn, Bentley – even though WBO titlist at 160lbs – is a relative pauper.

He’s endured a difficult few years with inactivity blighting his progress, as he waited for his mandatory shot, and hit his wallet hard. He told BoxingScene in April that he was on the brink of becoming a delivery driver last year just to make ends meet.

Yet the 31-year-old’s fortunes have improved in 2026; he ended 16 months on the sidelines in April with a seventh-round stoppage of Endry Saavedra to win the interim title at middleweight before being upgraded to ‘world’ champion afterwards.

Even so, he’s yet to earn the kind of money fighters like the 25-2 (14 KOs) Benn have by the bucketload. That is not lost on Bentley, and neither is the fact that Benn – despite going 1-1 with Chris Eubank Jnr at 160lbs last year – hasn’t exactly earned a shot at middleweight honors, particularly after boiling himself back down to welterweight.

"Although the public might not think he deserves another world title shot in my eyes I feel like his profile is big enough for him to skip the queue," Bentley, 22-3-1 (18 KOs), told Sky Sports. 

"It's unfair but that's the sport we're in. Obviously it's beneficial for me, especially financially, so 100 per cent that's the fight I would take.”

Following his one-sided loss to Garcia, which it could be argued was his first true test against a world-class fighter at the peak of his powers, Benn declared he was going to take some time off to spend with his family.

"Firstly, he needs to get himself right, well and fit,” Bentley said. “I think he should take a lot of time off and recover. I don't think there's any rush for him to get back into a boxing ring or even a gym. That weight cut was a fight in itself for him, I think. Probably took a lot out of himself.

"Once he's well and fit, if he decides to move up to 160lbs and he does want the challenge, I think that's probably a conversation we can probably have ourselves: 'If you want to do this, let's push for it.'"

"I think he will be a lot better with the extra weight.

"I think at 160lbs he'll be a lot more fuelled. But, listen, I punch as well and there were a lot of flaws in his game that night that I could exploit."

Benn is not currently ranked by the WBO in any weight class. BoxingScene have approached the sanctioning body for comment regarding a potential Bentley-Benn showdown.