Denny puts another prospect in his place

Denny keeps the pressure on Pauls. Now for the British title

SEASONED southpaw Tyler Denny can surely be denied a British title fight no longer.

And the Rowley Regis middleweight has earned the opportunity the hard way.

He has driven through the ranks without the safety belt of easy fights, he has taken the sharp bends of dangerous, unbeaten opponents and the hard apprenticeship has produced a capable, well-schooled contender.

On Saturday night at Wembley Arena, the 31-year-old put another young upstart to the sword. Another prospect was unmasked as a pretender.

Newquay’s Brad Pauls entered the ring on a 16 fight winning streak and with a puncher’s reputation.

But the knock overs and easy wins had not prepared him for a fighting machine like Denny.

He was trounced by the defending English champ who bossed the action for the entire 10 rounds.

It was one-way traffic and the scorecards underlined Denny’s dominance. Howard Foster and Terry O’Connor both scored 97-93, Michael Alexander 98-93.

It’s the second time in a row that Denny has entered the lion’s den and taken the “0” from a boxer being groomed for stardom.

Last November, he dished out a lesson to Bradley Rea at Manchester Arena. Rea – 14-0 going into the fight – at least managed to hurt Denny with a body shot in the ninth.

Pauls failed to put a dent in Denny. The “Newquay Bomb” had a painful encounter with reality. He was left bruised, bloodied and bemused.

That was Denny’s sixth English title fight in a 21 bout career (two losses, three draws) and the second defence of the belt he gained with points victory over River Wilson-Bent. That was the fourth unbeaten boxer exposed by Tyler over the championship distance.

Against Pauls, the gulf in experience was apparent from the very first round. The Cornish challenger was upright, tentative and by as early as the third was wearing the expression of a man who knew he was in too deep.

He gamely took his lumps, however.

Pauls was clearly rattled by a right hook in the fourth and, in the eighth, the same shot sent shockwaves through his long body.

To his credit, he refused to crumble and attempted to turn the tide in the ninth and 10th, but it was Denny who always had the last word.

Surprisingly, the BCB boxer was critical of his own performance, telling Sky Sports: “I’m not too happy, I feel I didn’t box that well. I had to tough it out.

“I realised after three rounds he couldn’t keep up with the pace. I had to keep up a high work rate, make it scrappy.”

Now Denny faces a potentially long wait for a British title opportunity.

He added: “I don’t know anyone who’s had an English title as long (as I have). The British title isn’t being fought for until April. I fought twice last year and that’s not enough. I’ve got to keep active and the belts and the money will come with it.”

In a statement, BCB said:” The Lord Lonsdale belt awaits the likeable Black Country warrior. A lifelong Newcastle fan, Denny will be at Wembley again next weekend hoping for a similar outcome for his beloved Toon Army against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup Final.”

If the players show the same guile and will-to-win as Denny, they’ll walk it.

Picture courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer