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FIGHTING for the English middleweight title in Coventry proved to be a turning point in Tyler Denny’s career.
His third attempt at winning the belt ended in a technical draw against River Wilson-Bent after the fight was stopped on a cut to Bent’s left eye. The damage was deemed to have been caused by a clash of heads, which Denny vehemently disagreed with.
Scorecards of 68-65 (Bent), 66-67 and 67-67 left Denny with bitter disappointment, which he didn’t hide in the ring afterwards.
“I think that was probably the lowest point in my career,” Denny recalled when he spoke to Boxing News.
“Me and River get on now, but he was giving a lot of talk in the build-up. I felt like I got stitched up in that fight. That hurt, really. Not only that, I had to wait until June (2022) for the rematch. That was a long period. If I could have fought for instance the next month, I know that’s not possible, but you get it out your system.
“Seven months is a long time to hold on to, like a bit of a grudge and how much you want to beat this guy. At the same time, it all worked out well because the first fight was with Mick Hennessy and Channel 5. The rematch ended up being on Boxxer and Sky. And I’ve been with them ever since.
“If that had never happened, say if I would have got the win, then I might have never fought on Boxxer and I wouldn’t be where I am today. That’s the only way I look at it now and it makes me slightly happier.”
Denny couldn’t be any happier than he is these days because his career has rocketed to levels he couldn’t have predicted since working with Boxxer. Since beating Bent in the rematch and finally becoming English middleweight champion, Denny has won five consecutive fights. The biggest of all came in June when in his first European title defence he defeated Felix Cash after the fight was stopped on a cut but this time the scorecards rightly favoured the champion.
Now, the 33-year-old southpaw takes to the biggest boxing stage of 2024 at Wembley Stadium when he puts his belt on the line against Hamzah Sheeraz who is a long odds-on (1/10) favourite to beat Denny the 6/1 underdog.
“I know I wasn’t the first choice,” Denny commented. “Maybe he [Sheeraz] was going to fight Eubank or for a world title or even Felix Cash. But I beat that guy and not many people give me a chance.
“I come into this fight as a European champion. So, you know, I’m there for it. I’m full of confidence from the training that I do and from the people that I’ve beat. I’ve beat good names. I’ve beat people just as good as he’s beat. That’s what I believe.”
Denny will concede four inches in height to Sheeraz and while the challenger’s physical attributes are seen as a significant advantage they are played down by the champion.
“If you look at him size-wise and stood him next to Brad Rea (who Denny beat in 2022), they’d probably be very similar. You don’t get a great fighter because you’re tall and that sort of thing.
“I’m sure he’s different and stuff. But we’ve been sparring the likes of Ben Whittaker. I’ve had a lot of good sparring in the camp.”
“I feel like I’m ready,” he continued.
“If I’m not ready now, I’ll never be. I’m coming off a good win, full of confidence.
“I’ve not ballooned up in weight because it’s literally the day after [beating Cash] they’ve told me about the fight. If anything, I probably had to chill out for a couple of weeks before I went back to training properly because it was a bit too soon to go straight into a massive camp again. But honestly, without being overconfident, I’m really confident in my abilities to win this fight.
“I can’t see anything else but myself winning. I know he’s a top fighter and I give him so much respect. He’s ranked number one in the world with WBC and WBO and top five with the IBF. When I beat Hamza, I’ll get the credit then.”
Denny’s days as a plumber are long gone but he doesn’t forget them or the people he worked with or who helped him out in times of need. And the Wordsley-born fighter shared a story with BN that acts as motivation for him to ensure he doesn’t go back to the trade.
“Three years ago I started working with this guy and a month ago he texted me saying, ‘I’ve just sent you £200 quid.’ And I rang him and said, ‘What’s that for?’
“When we were doing the plumbing in the bathrooms, the old copper pipe we’d rip out and save it in a tat bag. He said, I got £400 for this tat and I forgot it was half yours.
“That was a nice thing to do. But I stay in contact with them. They come to my fights still.
“It’s a reminder for me. You know, some days you don’t want to get up for a while and stuff. I think, well, I’ll get up, man, because it’s better than changing that toilet if I don’t.”
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