Brad Pauls may have lost his prized British title to Denzel Bentley on Saturday night but the 31-year-old has already set his sights on returning to championship level.
Pauls dropped a unanimous decision at Wembley Arena but put in a resolute, determined display and forced his way back into the fight during some exciting middle rounds.
The die was permanently cast in the 10th when a hard Bentley jab badly damaged Pauls’ left eye but he bravely bit down on his mouthpiece and tried until the final bell. As well as taking Pauls’ British title, Bentley collected the vacant European belt and cemented his place at number one in the WBO middleweight rankings.
The result brought a disappointing end to a successful year for Pauls who became Cornwall’s first ever British champion when he stopped Nathan Heaney to win the title in July. Pauls drew with Heaney in a thrilling fight in March and the fight with Bentley was his third successive headline appearance on TNT Sports.
After the fight, Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren said that he would happily bring Pauls back and he remains a major player on the British middleweight scene.
Pauls took to social media to thank his fans and post his thoughts on the night.
“Not the result I wanted. I’m absolutely gutted but I did try my absolute best. Massive respect to Denzel Bentley who’s a great fighter and definitely above British level. I took a shot last night at something higher. It didn’t work out but I’ll do what I always do and go again,” he said before detailing what happened when a Bentley jab caused him to drop to a knee in the 10th round.
“Long night last night in the hospital after. I fractured my eye socket in the 10th round. I couldn’t see out of my eye afterwards during the fight from the 10th onwards so it changed the tide a little bit. That’s boxing. That’s how it goes sometimes. I’m gonna take some time to rest and recover and let my eye heal up. I believe Frank will work with me again in the future so I’ll be back on TNT next year as soon as I’ve recovered so stay with me, keep the faith. As the sponsor and support continues, I’ll continue to bring belts back. I know I can get more belts. A little rest and go again.
“I want to lead by example. I’m gonna take adversity, rebuild and come back stronger like I’ve always done.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79
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