The five rounds that Tyler Denny spent in the ring with Felix Cash might just have been the most impressive of the European middleweight champion’s career.
A cut over Cash’s eye may have brought the fight to a premature ending but rather than leaving unanswered questions, there was the feeling that the early finish robbed the European middleweight champion of a more decisive victory.
Denny, 19-2-3 (1 KO), grasped control of the bout and steadily tightened that grip as the rounds passed. He made the former British champion fight his type of fight, stunned him with a big left hook and, despite being the small man in the ring, he was also much more effective when the two engaged inside.
Cash was clearly a shadow of the fighter who stopped Denzel Bentley in three rounds back in 2021 but that shouldn’t be used to diminish Denny’s performance. Yes, Denny found his rhythm quickly and boxed with more belief and desire but, in short, he was simply the better fighter in every department.
Still, having looked on course for a dominant victory, the 32-year-old from Rowley Regis had a nervous couple of minutes as he waited for the scorecards to be totted up after just over four rounds of action.
“I’m buzzing. I was battering him though so I thought, ‘No, I hope they’re not gonna stitch me up.’ He was never lasting though. He was tired after two rounds,” he said.
“I’m the man. He wanted to do that little girly pushing [Cash pushed Denny during their final head to head at the weigh in] but he got his head punched in. Yeah, it was a cut but the way that was going, he was gone. He was desperate in there. I think he was buzzing when the ref called the doctor. Put some respect on my name, that’s all I ask for. He was looking down on me. I treat everyone who I get in the ring with with the highest respect. I’m loving life.”
Whereas Cash must now ask himself some serious questions about whether he wants to continue fighting, Denny’s remarkable rise continues. After an uneven start to his career, the former plumber is now unbeaten in almost five years and has developed into a headline attraction. After beating Cash – who entered the fight as the Ring Magazine’s eighth ranked middleweight – Denny should see his world ranking receive a healthy boost and he wants to continue pressing on.
“My last fight, I won the European title, called out Chris Eubank and got laughed at,” he said. “Felix Cash is on about Eubank and stuff though. You’ve got to put my name in the mix. Put me in those big world title fights. I’m the European champion and I’ve just defended it.
“Hard work pays off. Just believe in yourself. I was down but I’ve got a good team behind me. They believed in me and I believed in myself. Regardless of what happened tonight, I would have got into bed knowing that I’d done my best. I’ve done my best and got the belt so I’m buzzing.”
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