Denzel Bentley wants to keep hold of his WBO middleweight world title after snubbing a mandatory defence to sign with Zuffa Boxing.Bentley won the WBO world title by becoming an ’email champion’, being upgraded when the belt was vacated by Janibek Alimkhanuly as he held the interim title.White is trying to snap up as many leading champions as possible with Bentley being the latestGettyHe was then ordered to face Yoenli Hernandez in a mandatory first defence of the belt, but a deal for the fight couldn’t be reached.It then went to purse bids, where a minimum bid of $200,000 was tabled to stage the fight.Bentley elected to turn down the interested party, and announced he had signed with Dana White‘s Zuffa Boxing.In doing so, ‘Too Slick’ announced his debut will come against Shane Mosley Jr on a Zuffa card in November.Most then speculated that that had meant the British star had vacated the WBO title and was moving on.But he has now emphasised that his plan is to keep the prestigious belt, and believes he has a case to make a voluntary defence.To prevent being stripped, the 31-year-old has confirmed he has now filed an official appeal, to try and gain the governing body’s permission.He explained to Sky Sports: “I think because it went to purse bids it’s making it a bit difficult at this point. “I think we do have a good case. I did become champion and in their rulings you get nine months from when you become champion until your the mandatory gets called on. View Tweet: https://t.co/VJoZT7Wnop“We’ve been fighting this case from before it went to purse bids. “I think we’ve got a strong enough case for us to keep our title and if we can keep the title on the line for this fight, it would be an honour for me and for Shane Mosley Jr getting a shot at a world title and he could potentially become world champion.”It is unclear if the WBO will agree to the ruling, given the current tensions between the traditional hierarchy of the sport and White’s new organisation.Jai Opetaia is one of many to have already lost a world title since signing with the promotion, who have expressed their aims to award their own belts and use their own rankings systems.Could Bentley still fight Hernandez?However, for the three-time British champion, he is still open to facing Hernandez afterwards providing a deal can be reached.He added: “I’m more than happy to fight Hernandez. It’s just the situation at hand. Watch Boxing on DAZN*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenueSign up to DAZN to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate from just £24.99/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.Alternatively, DAZN Standard is just £15.99/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.Click here to sign up.“We already thought we were fighting a voluntary defence before the end of the year and put things in place for that. This has been thrown on us.“It just makes it a difficult place for me to be in. I don’t want to vacate and I don’t want to be stripped of my title. “But I have to move forward in my career and I cannot wait around for people to make decisions for me.”