Meet Nathan Heaney, the throwback boxer who delivered magic in the fight of the year

Nathan Heaney belongs in another boxing time and space. On Saturday, Heaney defended his British middleweight title when his fight with Brad Pauls was declared a split draw; Heaney is the champion and that meant he kept the title. The pair could have a rematch in June, outdoors at Stoke City.

In the week before the first bell in Birmingham, Heaney hand-delivered over 2,000 tickets to his devoted fans in Stoke. He went door-to-door for several nights. On Saturday night they delivered a spine-tingling version of “Delilah” to sing Heaney to the ring; he went to them; they came for him.

Simply calling Heaney a throwback misses the essential details and the charm of the man. He won the title last November when he beat the heavy favourite, and champion, Denzel Bentley in Manchester. It was the British boxing shock of the year; the fight on Saturday will surely be a strong contender for the fight of the year. Heaney is delivering magic.

“I’m just a boy from Stoke doing my best,” he said. “It’s a privilege having all these people come out to support me.”

Heaney has a glorious seventies moustache, a tribute to his father, and he has fought his way from obscurity and small halls to being the main event attraction. He never had the backing of a big promoter; the backing of a television company to fund the dream; he never had the luxury of a matchmaker guaranteeing that he never lost. Heaney is from the wrong side of the boxing tracks. The truth is that his brilliant ring entry to “Delilah”, arguably the best in the world right now, was his selling point, and not the possibility that one day he would win and retain a British title.

open image in gallery

Heaney is 34 now, he is unbeaten in 19 fights and this summer he will lead the faithful at his beloved Stoke City as he walks and sings his way to the ring for a title fight. It might be Pauls in the opposite corner and that would be good. Right now, Heaney is living a dream life, a boxing fairy tale that all kids have. Heaney has been with Stoke on a wet Tuesday, leaving Millwall at 10pm – he’s a fan, trust me.

The 11th round on Saturday, with Heaney in front at that point on all three scorecards, was the perfect start to the end of a fight that had been gripping from the opening bell. Pauls caught and hurt Heaney, forcing the Potteries idol to desperately grip and hold. The seconds counted, Heaney rallied, and they did the same in the 12th. Nobody at the old NEC was sitting.

They fell into each other’s arms at the end, both bruised and cut and bloodied. They stood anxiously as the scores were read: 116-113 for Heaney, 115-114 for Pauls and a final score of 114-114. A split draw, Heaney keeps the Lonsdale belt, Pauls should get a rematch.

Heaney thought he had done enough; Pauls wants to do it all again. “I don’t dislike Nathan, I just want his belt,” said Pauls. The crowd kept singing. Frank Warren, the promoter, kept his calm and never gave away much. “Let Nathan have a week off and then we will sit down and talk,” he said. Heaney is both an unlikely hero and an obvious hero. It might be a weary cliche, but Heaney really is a man of his people.

It’s possible that Felix Cash, a former British champion, and Chris Eubank Jr, another former British champion, are better middleweights. I just can’t imagine Cash or Eubank Jr knocking on doors and delivering tickets at the nearest council estate. And it’s also possible that Bentley would win a rematch with Heaney. By the way, Bentley is a local idol in Battersea. None of those assumptions matter because Heaney, with his giant tash, old-fashioned methods of promoting himself and his thousands of travelling fans, has given British boxing an odd boost. He’s the man that knocks at your door and that is a throwback. He is also the man next door, and in boxing terms, that is gold.