Michael Bentt

Michael Bentt
Bentt versus Savon 1987
Data
Birth Name	Michael Bent
Weight class	Heavyweight
nationality	British US-American
birthday	4th September 1965
place of birth	London
style	Left delivery
size	1.91 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles	13
Victories	11
Knockout victories	6th
Defeats	2

Michael Bentt (born September 4, 1965 in London ) is a former boxer and world heavyweight champion . He is of Jamaican descent, born in the UK and raised in the US.

amateur

Bentt was multiple American heavyweight champion (up to 91 kg). In 1985 he was third at the World Cup in Seoul after a semi-final defeat by Alexander Jagubkin . He finished third at the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow and the Amateur World Championships in Reno . At the World Cup he was able to beat Jagubkin in the quarterfinals, but then lost to Arnold Vanderlyde in the semifinals . He was also third at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis in 1987 , where he failed in the semifinals to Félix Savón .

In qualifying for the 1988 Olympic Games , he failed on points at the later gold medalist Ray Mercer . He turned down a place on the Jamaican Olympic team because he would have had to give up his US citizenship.

Professional career

Bentt made his professional debut in 1989 under the wing of Emanuel Steward . Against Jerry Jones he went KO in the first round. He later stated that he and Steward did not know before the fight that Jones was a southpaw.

It wasn't until 22 months later that he got back in the ring and changed coach. After ten victories against opponents who were building up , he got the chance to play against WBO world champion Tommy Morrison on October 29, 1993 . Completely surprisingly, he was able to win the fight after three knockdowns by technical knockout in the first round.

Now he met the undefeated Herbie Hide in his first title defense on March 19, 1994 . He had previously been knocked out during training and still competed against Hide against the recommendation of his doctor. He didn't win a round and was spectacularly knocked out in the seventh round. He suffered a cerebral haemorrhage , collapsed after the fight, and was in a coma for four days. After this disastrous defeat, he ended his career.

Others

After his boxing career, Bentt studied journalism and acting. He wrote an essay entitled "Anatomy of a Knockout" in which he processed his experiences as a boxer. In the Muhammad Ali biography Ali he played the role of Sonny Liston .

The first episode of the Netflix documentary Losers deals with his childhood, career and his dealings after being knocked out by Herbie Hide.

Web links

• Michael Bentt in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Michael Bentt in the BoxRec database

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Miscast Champion. Retrieved March 3, 2019 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
Tommy Morrison	Heavyweight Boxing Champion ( WBO ) October 29, 1993-19. March 1994	Herbie Hide