High stakes homecoming for Heaney<\/p>\n
Nathan \u2018Hitman\u2019 Heaney (18-2-1, 6 KOs) still has dreams of boxing at Stoke City\u2019s BET 365 stadium, and after five years away from the place he proudly calls home, the Pride of the Potteries will headline BCB Promotions \u2018Forgive Me Delilah\u2019 at the sold-out Kings Hall on July 26th.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>.<\/p>\n His popularity has grown year by year, and after a couple of tough defeats, he will take on former Southern Area champion Grant Dennis<\/a> knowing that anything other than a win could see that dream extinguished.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s ideal for me; it\u2019s perfect. My next fight I always wanted to be in Stoke, and when we looked at the options with Queensbury and with Errol, this was the next best thing to my dream of boxing at the BET 365.<\/p>\n \u201cFor my fans locally, it means no trains or hotels. It\u2019s 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\u2019m very grateful.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could have sold a lot more. I\u2019m still getting messages daily, and there aren\u2019t many boxers who can say they have that level of loyalty in support, especially after two losses.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s Sofiane Khati in February. Despite making a strong start, ultimately it didn\u2019t go to plan, with Heaney being stopped in the seventh round.<\/p>\n \u201cDennis 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\u2019t 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\u2019t my usual energetic self, and it\u2019s one of those things I didn\u2019t stick to what I was meant to do.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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\u2019t be possible unless I win, and I really think the city deserves it.\u201d<\/p>\n The undercard sees a potential classic for the English Welterweight Title 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.<\/p>\n All tickets have sold out, but you can join the waiting list for any returns by emailing info@bcb-promotions.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n