The scorecards told one story. Round seven told another. Denzel Bentley was probably losing this fight heading into the final minute of the seventh — but at 1:38 of that round, a searing combination silenced the doubts, sent Endry Saavedra to the canvas, and forced referee Darren Sarginson to wave it off. The vacant WBO Interim World Middleweight Title was Bentley’s.
For a fight that was years in the making — postponed, rescheduled, delayed, and finally landing on the biggest card of Bentley’s career — it delivered the most dramatic possible ending. “2 Sharp” is now a world title holder, and he wasted no time identifying his next target: Janibek Alimkhanuly. The main WBO middleweight crown is firmly in his sights.
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| Rd | Bentley Landed | Bentley Acc. | Power Acc. | Saavedra Landed | Saavedra Acc. | Power Acc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 13/39 | 33.3% | 46.7% | 9/44 | 20.5% | 35.0% |
| R2 | 13/44 | 29.5% | 35.0% | 16/57 | 28.1% | 28.2% |
| R3 | 17/40 | 42.5% | 50.0% | 13/45 | 28.9% | 25.0% |
| R4 | 16/48 | 33.3% | 50.0% | 19/58 | 32.8% | 32.6% |
| R5 | 12/34 | 35.3% | 42.9% | 17/51 | 33.3% | 34.8% |
| R6 | 16/51 | 31.4% | 46.2% | 14/47 | 29.8% | 33.3% |
| R7 | 24/46 | 52.2% | 57.7% | 11/27 | 40.7% | 47.6% |
| Total | 111/302 | 36.8% | 47.4% | 99/329 | 30.1% | 33.1% |
The Venezuelan came to London with a plan: outwork Bentley, win on volume, and grind down the home favourite’s confidence. For six rounds, the plan had merit. Saavedra threw 329 punches to Bentley’s 302 — more active in every round he won. His best rounds were R4 (19 landed, 32.8% on a massive 58 thrown) and R5 (17 landed, 33.3%). By the midpoint, he had constructed what appeared to be a points lead.
But the data reveals a structural flaw in Saavedra’s approach: his power punch accuracy was only 33.1% (77/233). He was throwing punch after punch, but landing his hardest shots less than a third of the time. Bentley, meanwhile, was connecting at 47.4% on power shots (63/133) — nearly half of every hard punch he threw was finding its target. The damage was accumulating quietly.
Bentley’s jab was the backbone of his best rounds. In R3 — where he had his strongest performance before the finish — he connected on 11 of 28 jabs (39.3%), opening up his power shots behind it and posting 42.5% total accuracy. When Bentley’s jab was working, Saavedra’s output dropped in response: in rounds where Bentley’s jab accuracy exceeded 30%, Saavedra threw fewer and landed less.
Saavedra’s jab, by contrast, never found consistent purchase. His 22.9% jab accuracy (22/96) meant he was constantly trying to throw through Bentley’s guard without the setup to make it stick.
This is where the numbers become extraordinary. Bentley had averaged 14.5 punches landed per round across the first six — steady, patient accumulation. In round seven, he landed 24 of 46 (52.2%), nearly doubling his average in a single three-minute burst. His power punch accuracy hit 57.7% (15 of 26) — the highest of any round for either fighter across the entire fight.
To frame what this means: Bentley landed more punches in round 7 than Saavedra managed in any of rounds 1, 3, 6, or 7 individually. A left-right combination midway through the round caught the Venezuelan clean and sent him stumbling. When Sarginson stepped in at 1:38, Saavedra had no argument to make.
Bentley was emotional and direct after claiming the title he had waited so long to fight for. Calling out Alimkhanuly by name, he made clear that the WBO interim belt is a stepping stone, not a destination. “This is what I’ve been working towards,” Bentley said. “Janibek — I’m coming.”
Saavedra was dignified in defeat. The Venezuelan had given Bentley problems through six rounds — no disgrace in being stopped by a fighter who finally unleashed everything he had in round seven.
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