FELIX CASH snatched the British middleweight title from Denzel Bentley with a smash-and-grab round three stoppage.
The 28-year-old put his Commonwealth belt on the line in his bid to add the Lonsdale to his haul and cashed out by stunning his Battersea rival early in their thrilling encounter.
The first two rounds were terrific with plenty of quality, bottle and grit.
But Bentley, 26, had his senses snatched away in the third, when he was pinned on the ropes, and had to be saved by the referee before he was battered to the floor.
Bentley landed the first crisp jab of the opener but Cash crashed home the heavier punches.
The Tony Sims-trained bruiser caught Bentley cold in a neutral corner and the Peacock Gym ace stiffened under a big shot.
Bentley tucked up and weathered the storm but Cash stalked him for the rest of the session and scored, with an uppercut Bentley’s best response before the bell.
Both fighters showed their offensive skills in the second, tagging each other with precision punches they had spent a lifetime practicing.
Bentley’s movement and punch selection was more eye-catching but thicker-set Cash never stopped marching forward throwing thudding shots, most of which were legal.
The fight then turned in a split second. Cash connected with a meaty right hand early on the third and Bentley was done.
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
In an instant his hands dropped and his eyes drooped and the referee jumped in expertly before serious harm was done.
Bentley contested and complained but for an agonising split second he was pinned against the ropes defenceless and could have been brutally harmed.
The newly crowned champ said: “I stunned him in the first round and I knew I would stop him
“He wasn’t as awkward as I thought he’d be.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
