Tyler Denny vs. Felix Cash Preview
By Alex Springer
Tyler Denny faces Felix Cash for the EBU European Middleweight title on Saturday
night at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham.
Denny, (18-2-3) is the current holder of the title, which he won by beating Matteo
Singnani in November last year. Denny came to prominence with boxing viewers when he fought to a controversial draw with River Wilson-Bent, on Channel 5, in November 2021. In the fight, Wilson-Bent sustained a cut over his left eye, which referee Ian John-Lewis determined was caused by a head clash, but television replays showed that the clash was caused by a punch.
As such, the fight went to the scorecards, and the fight was deemed a draw. Denny
couldn't hide his anger at the decision when the scorecards were read out.
"I was fuming," Tyler told me at this week's press conference for the Felix Cash fight in
Birmingham. "I wanted to pack it in. I thought I can't do this anymore. I'd just stopped working [to become a full-time professional], and the sponsorship started then, but the deal was
that I had to keep winning to keep the sponsorship, so I was under pressure."
The wrongs were put right, in Denny's eyes, when he won by split decision in the
rematch with Wilson-Bent, claiming the English Middleweight Title.
"It all worked out well in the end." Tyler told me. "The first fight was on Channel 5, but Hennessey [Mick] lost his contract with them, so the rematch took place on Sky, and I've fought on Sky ever since."
Denny went on from strength to strength Bradley Rea, Brad Pauls, and
McCaulay McGowan before becoming European Champion. It's been a fantastic two years for Denny, who is full of confidence going into his first European title defence.
"I'm gonna smash him up," Tyler said as the conversation moved onto the fight on
Saturday. Two years ago, I wouldn't be in the ring with him, but he's done nothing in the last eighteen months to two years, while the learning experiences I've had in that time means that
I've not only closed the gap, but I've surpassed him, and I'll show that on Saturday."
Cash (16-0) has not fought since a points win over Celso Neves in December 2022. Since then, a highly anticipated fight with Austin Williams had been agreed in principle to take place in 2023, but it never materialised. Cash was previously hot property on the domestic scene, knocking out the likes of Jack Cullen, Jason Welborn, and Denzel Bentley in good fashion on a run between 2019 and 2021.
Being pushed by Eddie Hearn and a firm fixture of the Tony Sims Matchroom Gym, a
world title shot seemed a realistic ambition, but his career came to a halt. The loss of close family members, divorce, a broken hand, and two operations have all contributed to a lengthy spell out of the ring for Cash. During this time, Cash parted ways with Tony Sims and is now trained by Adam Booth. This will be their first fight together. Felix told me how the link-up with Adam Booth came about.
"I've known Adam for a while, I've seen his work. He's had numerous world champions, and I've known Josh Kelly since the GB days. I dropped Josh a message, and then I and Adam had a two-week trial, and I loved it. I've been in the gym. I've maybe missed two months with the hand injury, but the rest of the time I've been working. When I beat Tyler on Saturday, I'll be right back in the mix for a world title shot."
It will be interesting to see how the inactivity affects Cash. His last two outings both went the distance, and it wasn't the usual explosive Cash that we were used to seeing. Was this just down to the injuries and troubles outside of the ring?
After such a long time out, Tyler Denny is a tough comeback fight for Cash. Denny is
not the type of fighter you want as your first fight back to shake off ring rust and find
your timing against.
Denny is not known for his power, as his record confirms, so he will rely on his crafty
counters and defensive nowse from the southpaw stance to frustrate Cash to try and
box his way to a points win. Two years ago, you would have made Cash a heavy favourite, but his inactivity combined with Denny's regular activity and growing confidence as a champion makes this a very intriguing fight.
Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
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