Win KO - Round 10/10
Fight Result
Draw
Middleweight Nathan Heaney
Draw by SD:
114-115 ,116-113 , 114-114
Draw
Middleweight Brad Pauls
Nathan Heaneyvs Brad Pauls
The Magnificent Seven are set to ride again and will rock up in Birmingham on Saturday March 16 with another festival of top championship fights at the Resorts World Arena, live on TNT Sports.
Tickets for the Magnificent Seven Ride Again are on sale now available from theticketfactory.com and ticketmaster.co.uk.
British middleweight champion Nathan Heaney (18-0, 6 KOs), fresh from his stunning victory over Denzel Bentley to claim the title in November, will make his first defence of his Lonsdale belt, against the English champion Brad Pauls (18-1, 10).
Liam Davies (15-0, 7), the British, WBC International and European champion, will challenge for the IBO world super bantamweight championship when he takes on the holder Erik Robles Ayala (15-1, 9) from Mexico.
In a cracking domestic duel, also at super bantamweight, Commonwealth champion Dennis McCann (14-0-1, 8) faces the also undefeated WBO European champion Brad Strand (11-0, 3) with the vacant WBO Intercontinental title on the line.
Another battle of undefeated talents will take place at welterweight, with Eithan James (12-0) defending his WBO European title, along with battling for the vacant English belt against Owen Cooper (9-0, 3), the Midlands Area champion.
Up at heavyweight, Soloman Dacres (8-0, 2) returns defending his English title with an opponent to be announced shortly.
Jumping back on the heavyweight horse after rare career setbacks is the Juggernaut, Joe Joyce (15-2, 14), who returns in 10 round action against the former IBF European champion Kash Ali (21-2, 12).
Also on the card is former WBO International super middleweight champion Zach Parker (23-1, 17), who will take on the former WBA world champion Tyron Zeuge (27-1-1, 15).
“The depth and quality of this card is incredible with so many even-money fights,” said promoter Frank Warren. “The Magnificent Seven show in November proved such a hit with boxing fans that doing it again in the city that staged the original promotion back in 2010 made perfect sense. And this one is even better.
“Seven big title fights on one big night is a veritable banquet of boxing for sports fans to feast on and a number of our young stars are really stepping up for the occasion.
“It will be a special night for our Stoke hero Nathan Heaney making a first defence of his British title against the English champion Brad Pauls before, if all goes to plan, we get to fight him at the home of Stoke City at the end of the football season.
“Liam Davies fully merits his shot at a version of the world title at super bantamweight against a strong champion in Erik Robles Ayala, where a win will really put him right in the mix.
“Then we have got four absolute domestic bangers featuring Dennis McCann against Brad Strand, Eithan James against Owen Cooper and Soloman Dacres defending his English title – all with championship belts on the line.
“We will also get to see the return to heavyweight business of Joe Joyce before he hopefully makes himself part of the bigger picture again, plus our super middleweight tank Zach Parker making his move back towards elite competition once more against a top opponent in Tyron Zeuge.
“If you love boxing, Birmingham is the place to be on March 16.”
-
WINS
18
-
LOSES
0
-
DRAW
0
-
KOs
6
NathanHitman
“Heaney”
Fighter ProfileIn the months before the world was forced into inactivity by the pandemic, Nathan Heaney was basking in the online glory resulting from footage of his ring entrance finding its way across the globe.
To the strains of the Tom Jones classic ‘Delilah’, his (mostly) male voice choir from the Potteries serenaded the middleweight as he energetically strutted his way to the ring at the Kings Hall in his native Stoke-on-Trent.
To say the grainy video captured the imagination of the social media community would be an understatement. The next time Heaney, now 33, rocked up at the grand old venue, demand to be there in person had rocketed and this son of Stoke personally sold over 800 tickets – and the video library was duly bolstered in sharper focus.
The trouble was, just as the belting out of ‘Delilah’ was becoming a familiar fighting refrain, Covid-19 struck and boxing was put on pause.
Where would isolation and inactivity leave the developing but still formative fighting story of the charming and popular boxer who enjoys a mutual love with his local football team, Stoke City FC?
“The video changed my life massively,” confessed Heaney. “When it happened at the time I thought it was both amazing and incredible, but then Covid happened and I thought to myself ‘that’s it now, my career is just done’.”
His wheel of fortune then took another turn for the better when the ring walk crooner was saved from the sofa and signed by Frank Warren to fight under the Queensberry banner and perform live on BT Sport.
Tom Jones, Delilah, Stoke City, fan favourite, local boy made good are all part of the story, but what shouldn’t be omitted from the growing narrative is that Nathan Heaney can fight.
Unbeaten in 16 pro fights, Heaney was a late starter in the paid ranks but his business was always boxing. He just made a conscious decision to remain in the amateurs and learn the ropes for longer than is the norm these days.
Now he is closing in on his cherished dream of fighting for the British title on the hallowed turf of his second home at Stoke’s Bet365 Stadium.
Brad Pauls
"The Newquay Bomb"
Fighter ProfileThe Newquay Bomb, Brad Pauls, is the British middleweight champion, having realised his career-long dream in July with a resounding late stoppage of previous champion Nathan Heaney in Birmingham, at the second attempt.
The pair fought to a thrilling draw in their original encounter at the same venue in March, with the Cornishman believing himself to have been hard done by on the scorecards.
The 31-year-old earlier reigned as English champion courtesy of an eighth round stoppage of the previously unbeaten Mitchell Frearson, having lost out on point in his opening attempt at winning the belt against Tyler Denny.
Before and since his Denny setback, Pauls has remained unbeaten and his maiden title success came in 2019 when he triumphed in a Southern Area championship match against Darren Cordona, before making a successful defence against Robbie Chapman.
Pauls turned professional in December 2015 and his record currently stands at 19-1-1 (11 KOs). In December he takes on Denzel Bentley with his British title, along with the European and WBO International belts on the line. The fight will also serve as an eliminator for a shot at the WBO world middleweight title.
-
WINS
18
-
LOSES
1
-
DRAW
0
-
KOs
11
Plus Full Undercard Featuring
Heavyweight
Joe
Joyce MBE
15(14)-2-0
Kash Ali21(12)-2-0
Super-Bantamweight
Win TKO - Round 2/12
Liam
Davies
15(7)-0-0
Erik Robles Ayala21(9)-2-0
Vacant IBO World Super-Bantamweight Championships
Super-Bantamweight
Win UD - Round 12/12
Dennis
McCann
14(3)-0-1
Brad Strand11(9)-0-0
Vacant British, Commonwealth & WBO Inter-Continental Super-Bantamweight Championship
Super-Middleweight
Win UD - Round 10/10
Zach
Parker
23(17)-1-0
Tyron Zeuge27(15)-1-1
Super-Lightweight
Win KO - Round 9/10
Pierce
O'Leary
13(8)-0-0
Hovhannes Martirosyan16(10)-0-0
WBC International Super-Lightweight Championship
Welterweight
Eithan
James
12(0)-0-0
Owen Cooper9(1)-0-0
British & WBO European Welterweight Championship
Win RTD - Round 9/10
Light-Heavyweight
Win TKO - Round 4/10
Ezra
Taylor
7(5)-0-0
Prince Oko Nartey11(10)-2-0
our partners
