Every fighter celebrates a big victory differently.
There may be a big night out or two (or three in some cases) with friends and a week of cheat days, but it usually doesn’t take long before the phone stops ringing, the congratulatory messages dwindle, and life ends. . return to normal.
A month after his British middleweight title victory over Denzel Bentley, Nathan Heaney continues to receive regular reminders that his life has changed.
“I keep getting random messages from people with the Kazakhstan flag in their name saying Janibek is going to hit me. [Alimkhanuly]” Heaney (18-0, 6 KO’s) laughed when speaking to BoxingScene.com.
“That’s the strangest thing. I’d probably say I get a message every three or four days from a Kazakh user saying they’re going to knock me out. Or they set my record with six knockouts and a smiling face next to it. I don’t need to knock you out to beat you. It’s funny though.”
A fight with the unified WBO and IBF middleweight champion is not on the agenda yet, but the fact that Heaney is mentioned in the same breath as the undefeated Janibek shows how important last month’s victory over Bentley was. [who lost a competitive decision to the Kazakh in November 2022] meant.
For years, Stoke’s unbeaten 34-year-old has heard the not-so-quiet rumors that he was being protected and kept unbeaten due to his large and loyal fan base and that he would be found out as soon as he moved up a level.
So more than a few eyebrows were raised when Queensberry decided to pair one of its biggest ticket sellers with the dangerous Bentley.
Heaney, a big underdog coming into the fight, was a revelation, controlling the range and never allowing Bentley to gain momentum. When the heavy-handed Londoner managed to land a solid shot, Heaney made sure to respond immediately. It was a performance of tactical astuteness and poise that surprised many seasoned spectators.
“I’ve always said if you’re a British champion you can do anything,” Heaney said. “The majority of British champions are high quality fighters who can perform on the world stage. For me, the first big step was the British title. It was only a couple of years ago when I started to think I could win the British title, it depends on who is in front of you. The fact that he beat Denzel Bentley meant it wasn’t a standard British title fight. This was a guy who was being lined up to fight Janibek in a possible rematch. If it’s possible for him to be on the world stage and then I beat him convincingly, then it’s possible for me to be on the world stage.
“Steve and I [Woodvine, his trainer] I just knew what makes Denzel Bentley great and what makes him not so great. Every person I’ve ever watched, including Janibek, gets holes in their feet as soon as they hold their feet in the Bentley. People may say it was flat and this and that, but I disagree. I think I made him act like he did.”
Suddenly, Heaney’s bucket list had an extra “thing to do” added. From the moment they first put on the gloves, every fighter fantasizes about winning a world title, but for years Heaney put those thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on his boxing dreams of winning the British middleweight title. and fight in front of his fanatical supporters at the home of his beloved Stoke City.
Mission accomplished. He had the Lonsdale belt on his mantelpiece for Christmas and it appears to be a question of when, not if, he will achieve his dream of going out to fight on the field at the Bet365 Stadium.
Beating Bentley has broadened Heaney’s horizons and suddenly those world title fantasies have pushed their way to the forefront of his mind.
If he can get one or two more wins, it’s almost inevitable that he’ll get a title shot and he’ll have earned it in the ring rather than by selling tickets.
“Before, my fans deserved that event, but now I have shown that, as a fighter, I deserve that event too,” he said.
“For me, the ideal plan would be to defend the British title in early 2024, fight in the field in the summer and, if I win, ideally I would love to fight Janibek. Las Vegas, Saudi Arabia, I don’t care. Anywhere. I would love to fight for a world title. I would be the first person from my city to do it.
“I’ve looked at Janibek and he’s very good, but that’s why I want to put a little bit of attention on Steve. [Woodvine]. He has turned what people thought him to be an average fighter who was at area level at best into a British champion through all the work he did with me and the tactics he came up with. I know Steve would come up with the exact game plan to work against Janibek. Anyway, I have ideas because I’ve seen him against Bentley. The reason he did so well for six rounds was because he just boxed. Then his corner made a mistake. They said he had to push Bentley back. That’s when Bentley got back into the fight. If you can somehow make Janibek do that… It’s crazy to even think about it, but I would love to fight him.”
Heaney hasn’t won everyone over yet. The whispers will start again. She took advantage of a Bentley out of her mind. She enjoyed a night of a lifetime. They’ll find out once she gets past the British level. Heaney will ignore them, retreat to the gym with Woodvine and they will set about proving people wrong again.
“I love that people still don’t think I’m good enough,” he said. “The motivation I had in that fight, that underdog mentality. It is legit. I like it and I think I will always be like that.
“This year is a pretty exciting year. Before, you would be thinking about what fights might arise, but now I believe in myself more. “It wasn’t a fluke the way I beat Bentley.”
