Denzel Bentley will face Shane Mosley Jr. in the November 7 co-main event at London’s Copper Box Arena, giving Zuffa Boxing a middleweight matchup while Bentley’s WBO title situation remains unresolved.
The announcement gives Bentley a scheduled fight at home after a $200,000 purse bid for his mandatory defense against Yoenli Hernandez. It also strengthens the Chris Billam-Smith–Cheavon Clarke card with two experienced middleweights who can punch.
“HOW ‘BOUT THIS CO-MAIN EVENT,” Zuffa Boxing posted on X, announcing Bentley against Mosley Jr.
Bentley’s reported multi-fight deal also helps explain the choice of Mosley Jr., who is already signed to Zuffa. The promotion gets a matchup between two of its own middleweights, while Bentley moves toward a London fight instead of the ordered Hernandez defense. Whether he can retain his WBO title remains unresolved.
Warriors Boxing won the Hernandez purse bid with an uncontested $200,000 offer. Queensberry did not bid. That left Bentley facing an unbeaten mandatory challenger on another promoter’s card, with proposed December dates in the United States.
The commercial attraction of Zuffa’s offer is understandable. Bentley gets a London appearance and a longer agreement rather than one mandatory defense. His new purse has not been disclosed, so the financial improvement cannot yet be measured.
Mosley Jr. also brings more than a famous surname. He stopped Serhii Bohachuk in six rounds in May, giving this matchup a credible sporting basis. Bentley cannot approach it as an easy introduction to his new promotion.
Still, Hernandez’s position needs an answer. The WBO previously insisted Bentley fulfill the mandatory before pursuing a proposed Aaron McKenna unification. Switching promoters does not resolve that obligation.
Bentley gives Zuffa another established British fighter and strengthens its November 7 card. He gets a London debut against Mosley Jr., although his WBO title status still needs to be settled.