The WBO will not allow Denzel Bentley to defend his middleweight title against Conor Benn, according to the governing body's president, Gustavo Olivieri.
Benn suffered the second defeat of his career last weekend after he was outclassed by Ryan Garcia in their welterweight world title clash. Garcia dominated proceedings before stopping the Brit in the second round.
Bentley's offer rejected
Ahead of the contest, Benn had revealed that the clash with Garcia would mark his final outing at 147lb. With the 'Destroyer' set to spend some time with his family before returning to the ring, it seemed as if his next challenge had become clear after Bentley welcomed a showdown with the 29-year-old.
Bentley was recently upgraded to full middleweight world champion and was willing to put his belt on the line against Benn in a 160lb contest. The WBO do not appear to be as keen as the 31-year-old.
Mandatory fight ordered
"Not happening," WBO president Gustavo Olivieri told BoxingScene when asked if the governing body would sanction a clash between Bentley and Benn. "Bentley has been mandated to fight [Yoenli] Hernandez, and the mandatory must be discharged as ordered. Benn is not even rated and is coming off a TKO loss."
It came after Bentley had told The Ring magazine: "Conor's whole thing in the Garcia fight was that he wanted to win the WBC title like his dad did. Well I hold the actual WBO middleweight title that his dad held.
"I'd be happy to fight him because it's beneficial for me as well. It's not just me giving him an opportunity because he will be giving me an opportunity to make some big money as well.
"Let's not get it twisted. I think it would be a great story behind it because it is his dad's old belt and it's a fight that would raise my profile a lot. He's getting another opportunity to achieve a dream and do what he has set out to do with the WBC title but just in different circumstances.
"If he wants to move up and fight for the belt, I'd have to grant him that because it benefits both of us. I'm at a stage now where I'm a world champion and that will be on my resume forever. Now it's time to make some money."
