British Champion Pauls Prepares for Career-Defining Bout

Brad Pauls, who has suffered only a single defeat in his professional career, remarked, “Boxing’s funny because you’re one win away from a completely different life and you’re one loss away from being a bum, so you better hope you get the win.” The British middleweight titleholder articulated the significance of his main event bout against Denzel Bentley, scheduled for Saturday at Wembley Arena, in his own distinct manner. This contest will see the two boxers compete for the European and WBO International middleweight titles, in addition to Pauls’ national championship. Crucially, the victor will position themselves for a potential world title opportunity in 2025, given that Bentley holds the WBO’s top contender spot and Pauls is ranked second. For the fighter known as the Newquay Bomb, this event could represent the peak of a career’s dedication; he made history in July by becoming the first boxer from Cornwall to secure a Lonsdale belt since 1939, achieving this by defeating Nathan Heaney for the British title. Pauls conveyed to BBC Sport, “It’s strange, but what else did I expect to happen? I’ve done nothing else, I promise you, I’m not good at any other thing. All I’ve done is box, I thought ‘something’s got to happen here’ and it’s nice to be in the history books. I’d love to give Cornwall some history where they don’t have loads of superstars coming out of that county. I feel like there’s a little bit more to gain, a little bit more to do.” Pauls and Bentley are slated as the headline attraction for Frank Warren’s boxing event this Saturday. The 31-year-old Pauls boasts a professional record of 19 victories and only one loss, with 12 of his wins secured by knockout. He acknowledges that his upcoming fight against Bentley on Saturday will be a pivotal moment in his career, potentially leading to either being considered a ‘bum’ or achieving that ‘completely different life’. Taking a break from his training regimen, he stated, “It’s a lot of pressure, but that’s what makes it exciting; it is so much to gain, so much to lose all at the same time. But for me I’m the underdog in this fight, he’s the established champion – a two-time British champion, a world title challenger. I’d say there’s more pressure on him, he’s more of a name.” Londoner Bentley possesses a record described as equal to Pauls’, with 17 of his 20 victories achieved by knockout. Among his three career losses, one occurred in a world title contest against the undefeated Kazakh champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly two years prior, and another was against Heaney last November, resulting in him losing the British title that Pauls currently holds. Pauls elaborated, “I know Denzel, his gym’s 10-15 minutes away, I’ve sparred plenty of rounds with him. I know it’s a dangerous fight. Denzel hits hard, has a lot of knockouts, but so do I. When they presented me with the options for my next fight, they said you can fight Denzel or fight someone else who wasn’t as challenging, in my opinion, and I took the tougher fight. I want to look back at the end of my career and say I stepped up and I fought the tougher man, because it’s not in me to shy away and pick an easy fight. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to go out there and fight the best people in the country, so here I am fighting Denzel.” Brad Pauls was seen proudly displaying the Cornish flag following his British title victory earlier this year. Pauls’ triumph against Heaney earlier this year established him as the first boxer from Cornwall to claim a British title since Len Harvey secured the light-heavyweight championship just prior to the commencement of World War Two. The middleweight contender stated that the encouragement he receives from his native county is a primary motivator, and he anticipates a strong presence from the Duchy’s supporters this Saturday. He proudly declared, “It’s given me a lot more faith in the world because all the Cornish people just want to see me do well. There’s no hate, no agenda, they just buy tickets to help me achieve my dreams. Pretty much all of my sponsors are Cornish businesses that are just backing their man; I couldn’t do what I do without them. I just want to do well for them, and after my British title win I could really see what it meant to them, people were so happy for me. They couldn’t be more generous and genuinely happy, so it just adds a little bit more motivation to why I’m doing what I’m doing.”