Bentley Ordered To Face Hernandez Or Vacate WBO Title

WBO middleweight champion Denzel Bentley has been denied his request to skip mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez and must commit to the bout within 24 hours or vacate his title.

WBO president Gustavo Olivieri rejected Bentley's appeal for a voluntary defense, according to Bad Left Hook, forcing the British fighter to choose between facing Hernandez or losing the belt he inherited when Janibek Alimkhanuly failed a drug test and moved to super middleweight. Bentley won an interim strap against Endry Saavedra in April that was elevated to full champion status after Alimkhanuly's exit.

The ruling puts Bentley's planned November 7th Zuffa Boxing debut against Shane Mosley Jr in serious doubt. Dan Rafael reports that Bentley has a signed agreement in place for the Mosley fight, which would be more lucrative than the Hernandez showdown. Queensberry Promotions and Zuffa both declined to participate in the purse bid for Bentley-Hernandez, allowing Hernandez's team to claim the bout with a minimum offer of $200,000.

Hernandez holds an 11-0 record with nine knockouts and was set to receive 75 percent of the purse bid. Bentley, 22-3-1 with 18 knockouts, applied for a retroactive exception after announcing the Mosley bout but has been denied by the sanctioning body.

If Bentley vacates, Vito Mielnicki Jr sits at number two in the WBO rankings behind Hernandez, followed by Tim Tszyu, Michael Zerafa, and Fiodor Czerkaszyn. The WBO expects a decision from Bentley's camp by tomorrow.