Nathan Heaney

Nathan Heaney (born 4 April 1989) is an English professional boxer who is a former British middleweight champion.

Nathan Heaney
Born	(1989-04-04) 4 April 1989 (age 36)[1] Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England[1]
Other names	Hitman[1]
Statistics
Weight(s)	Middleweight, Super-middleweight
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1]
Reach	74 in (188 cm)[1]
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record[2]
Total fights	21
Wins	18
Wins by KO	6
Losses	2
Draws	1

Career

Having started boxing aged 11, Heaney turned professional in 2017, securing a points win over Daryl Sharp on his pro-debut at the Imperial Banqueting Suite in Bilston on 25 November that year.^[3]

In his seventh bout in the paid ranks, he claimed his first professional title by defeating Tom Stokes on points 96–94 for the vacant Midlands Area middleweight crown at King's Hall in Stoke on 21 June 2019.^[4]

Returning to the same venue and moving up a weight division, Heaney won the vacant IBO Continental super-middleweight title thanks to a unanimous decision success over Christian Schembri on 13 March 2020.^[5]

Back at middleweight, he stopped Sladan Janjanin in the seventh round to take the IBO Continental title in a second weight division at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on 6 November 2021.^[6]

Despite being knocked down in the opening round, Heaney successfully defended his title with a unanimous decision win over Diego Ramirez at the International Centre in Telford on 16 April 2022.^[7]

He defended his title for the second time against Jack Flatley at Manchester Arena on 24 September 2022 on the undercard of the Joe Joyce vs Joseph Parker heavyweight championship fight. The contest was stopped in the fifth round on the advice of the ringside doctor when he suffered a cut above his right eye caused by an accidental clash of heads. Heaney was ahead on all three judges' scorecards at that point so was declared the winner by unanimous technical decision.^[8]

A rematch took place at the International Centre in Telford on 25 March 2023, with the vacant WBA Continental middleweight title on the line. This time the bout went the full 10 rounds and Heaney won by unanimous decision.^[9][10][11]

Unbeaten in his first 17 fights, he challenged British middleweight champion Denzel Bentley at Manchester Arena on 18 November 2023, claiming the title by majority decision with two of the ringside judges scoring the fight 117–111 and 116–113 respectively in his favour, while the third had it a 114–114 draw.^[12][13][14]

He made the first defense of his title on 16 March 2024 at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham against Brad Pauls. The bout ended in a split draw with one judge giving it 116–113 to Heaney, another favouring Pauls by 115–114 and the third seeing the contest as a 114–114 tie.^[15][16][17]

The fighters met in a rematch at the same venue on 20 July 2024. Heaney was knocked to the canvas in the fourth round and, although he recovered to continue the fight, he was stopped in the final round to lose his title and unbeaten record.^[18][19]

In January 2025, he was inducted into the Stoke-on-Trent Sporting Hall of Fame.^[20][21][22]

Heaney faced Sofiane Khati for the vacant WBA Continental middleweight title at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on 8 February 2025, losing by stoppage in the seventh round.^[23][24]

He is scheduled to take on Grant Dennis at King's Hall in Stoke on 26 July 2025.^[25][26]

Personal life

A qualified teacher,^[27] Heaney was a college lecturer before focusing on boxing full-time.^[27][28]