NATHAN Heaney still has dreams of boxing at Stoke City’s Bet365 stadium. After five years away from the place he proudly calls home, the Pride of the Potteries will headline BCB Promotions’ ‘Forgive Me Delilah’ at the sold-out Kings Hall on July 26th.
The 36-year-old middleweight has packed a lot into his 25 years in the sport. From his successful early amateur days, right through to winning the British title despite being a heavy underdog against Denzel Bentley.
Heaney’s popularity has grown year by year. After a couple of tough defeats, he will take on former Southern Area champion Grant Dennis, knowing that anything other than a win could see that dream extinguished.
“It’s ideal for me; it’s perfect. My next fight, I had always wanted to be in Stoke, and when we looked at the options with Queensberry and Errol, this was the next best thing to my dream of boxing at the Bet365. For my fans locally, it means no trains or hotels.
“It’s a lot easier, and they deserve that for all the support they have given me. I do still have some travelling in and flying over from Ireland, which is amazing, and I’m very grateful.
“We could have sold a lot more. I’m still getting messages daily, and there aren’t many boxers who can say they have that level of loyalty in support, especially after two losses.”
After back-to-back wars with Brad Pauls, which saw Heaney lose his British title in the rematch, he was given a comeback fight against France’s Sofiane Khati in February. Despite making a strong start, ultimately it didn’t go to plan, with Heaney being stopped in the seventh round.
“Dennis was a name that was looked at for a fight about three years ago, and he is going to be very motivated to beat me. My last five fights have been really tough, and this isn’t at the level of the Denzel Bentleys and Brad Pauls, but for this show, he is the ideal opponent.
“I watched the Khati fight back once; I felt flat. I wasn’t my usual energetic self, and it’s one of those things I didn’t stick to what I was meant to do.”
A couple of successful stints as a pundit on TNT and Talksport have given Heaney a chance to work on the other side of the sport, and as much as he has one eye on life after he hangs up the gloves, for now, his focus remains inside rather than outside of the ring.
“I’d love to get into punditry or maybe into managing fighters, as I feel with my experience going from the bottom and building my way up, it would put me in a good spot to pass that knowledge on. After achieving what I have, winning the British Title, and boxing in arenas all across the country, the last thing, the only thing that motivates me now is a fight at Stoke City.
“The atmosphere on the 26th is going to be amazing, and just imagine what it would be like if we got a show there. With this fight being free to view for everyone, hopefully the right people see it and make that happen. I know that won’t be possible unless I win, and I really think the city deserves it.”
The undercard sees an English welterweight title fight between Ben Vaughan and Bobby Dalton. Unbeaten trio Ollie Cooper, Lewis Lawton and Levi Vaughan are all in action along with Connor Parker and Shauna Browne. All tickets have sold out. The fight will be streamed live on BCB’s YouTube Channel.
