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Boxing

Middleweight champion would 'love' to match Ricky Hatton achievement

Philip Marsh
Middleweight champion would 'love' to match Ricky Hatton achievementGettyImages
The Stoke-native has a big following.

British middleweight champion Nathan Heaney has built up a big following in his boxing career to date.

The 34-year-old from Stoke, who has a professional fighting record of 18-0 with six knockouts, had the biggest win of his career back in November, beating heavy favourite Denzel Bentley.

Heaney, who will defend his title against Brad Pauls on March 16 in Birmingham, is still hoping to one day fight at the bet365 Stadium where his favourite team Stoke City play.

Heaney's promoter, Frank Warren, has claimed his fighter is the biggest ticket seller in British boxing since Ricky Hatton.

Hatton famously took around 30,000 fans to Las Vegas, Nevada for his blockbuster fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. back in 2007 - almost twice the capacity of the MGM Grand Arena where the bout took place.

And while Heaney said he would "love" to emulate Hatton, he would be happy with a far more reasonable number of fans travelling abroad to watch him.

“Ricky Hatton was a phenom," Heaney told BoxingScene. “What happened there was something that may never happen again. 20,000 people in Vegas! It’s just incredible how it happened to be honest. 

“If I could take a few hundred over there I would be delighted. It would be amazing. You never know what could happen in the future.

“I’d never rule it out. It would be some atmosphere. Imagine all them Stokies on the Strip.” 

The more immediate task for Heaney is his bout against Pauls, a fight which if he wins could take him one step closer to a fight at the bet365 Stadium.

“Frank Warren has said if I win this fight I’ll get the stadium fight next. So that’s all that matters to me," said Heaney.

“Brad Pauls is a good fighter. You only have to see what happened in my last fight. If you underestimate someone they can perform out of their skin on the night. 

“That was my best performance, but I’ve still got plenty more to come. There’s still improvements there to be made."

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