Ringside Report: Nathan Heaney Claims The British Middleweight Title

Ringside Report: Nathan Heaney Claims The British Middleweight Title

By Matt Elliott

When it was first announced, it was billed as potentially the most exciting British card of 2023, and when the action was finally over last night, it had certainly backed up that claim. It was a nine-fight card, which included seven intriguing fights, with almost all of them living up to the hype.

In the main event, Queensberry went with Denzel Bentley defending his British middleweight title against Nathan Heaney with the WBA continental belt also on the line. It was a wise move by Frank Warren as it ensured the Stoke contingent who had travelled to see Heaney remained until the end, creating a fantastic atmosphere as they belted out Delilah as he made his ring walk. Many expected the entertainment from Heaney to stop there, with Bentley widely fancied to have too much for the Stoke man. As it proved, though, that was far from the case.

From the first bell, Heaney gained a foothold in the fight. He was able to outwork and outpunch Bentley in the early stages before the reigning champion started to increase his output. As the rounds passed by, Heaney was expending a lot of energy, but he was driven on by the thousands of fans who had turned out to support him, and he proved elusive as Bentley failed to land telling shots with any regularity. When he did, Heaney was equal to them. Some had questioned whether he could absorb Bentley’s power, but he did so on several occasions during the middle rounds, and fired back at the champion, even finding time to sing along with the crowd mid-clinch.

Bentley kept trying until the end, but by this time, it was a fight that was beyond his grasp unless he could find a knockout blow. That failed to materialise, and as the judges’ scorecards were read out, they saw a majority decision in favour of Heaney, with scores of 114-114, 116-113, and 117-111. He fell to his knees in delight as it dawned on him what he had achieved, and he can now look ahead to even more big nights in the future.

In the co-main event, it was another impressive performance from Nick Ball as he got a unanimous decision over Isaac Dogboe, the judges scoring it 118-109, 116-111 and 119-108. The scores felt too wide, but there could be no argument that the right man won. Dogboe had success in rounds two and three, twice catching Ball with shots that forced him back, but the WBC silver champion, was the man exerting the pressure, constantly throwing punches and using his physicality to gain the upper hand. In round four, he caught Dogboe with a left hook, which sent him momentarily to the canvas, but he recovered and, in reality, never looked like being stopped. Ball is now in pole position for a future shot at the WBC featherweight title currently held by Rey Vargas.

Liam Davies put on another spectacular show as he stopped Vincenzo La Femina in round five. Davies was cut in the first after a head clash but shrugged this off to put Femina down in round two. As he appeared to be in control, Femina fired back with a flash knockdown of his own in the same round. Davies again had Femina down in round four before the referee stepped in to halt the contest in the fifth after he buzzed Femina and forced him back against the ropes with the Italian throwing little back. It’s been a strong year for Davies, and this was the perfect way to end it.

Another champion was dethroned as Harry Scarff beat Ekow Essuman on points, the judges unanimously scoring it 116-113, 117-112 and 115-113 to send the British, Commonwealth and IBF European welterweight titles back to Derby. Scarff boxed brilliantly throughout the fight, preventing Essuman from gaining any rhythm and building a healthy lead. Essuman did have better success in the later rounds as Scarff tired, but it was too little too late.

Soloman Dacres can consider himself fortunate to retain his English heavyweight title, with a majority decision over Michael Webster. Dacres was lacklustre, and his power failed to put a dent in Webster, who grew in confidence as the fight went on. If the Middlesbrough man had been able to let his hands go more, he could have gotten the nod. Instead, Dacres holds onto his belt but will need to improve from this showing.

There was disappointment for Hannah Rankin on her Queensberry debut as she lost to Ema Kozin failing to capture the WBO and WBC super welterweight titles in the process. It was a scrappy affair that did get better as the rounds progressed, and the same can be said for Rankin, who lost a lot of the earlier rounds before finding some momentum. It went to a split decision, but Kozin got the nod, and after the fight, the current IBF and IBO champion, Femke Hermans, entered the ring for a showdown with Kozin. It is likely that fight will be next.

The tone for the night was set when Nathaniel Collins defended his British and Commonwealth featherweight titles against Zak Miller. It was the perfect fight to get the ‘Magnificent 7’ part of the event underway, as both men left their all in the ring. Collins had much of the early success, but Miller grew into the fight, backed by strong vocal support. The short uppercut was working well for Collins, and he bloodied the nose of Miller in the middle rounds. The Manchester man started to land with more accuracy in the later rounds, and that ultimately made for a close decision. I thought Collins did enough to win more clearly on the cards, but one judge scored it 114-114, with the other two favouring Collins by 115-113, ensuring he retained his titles.

Photo Credit: Queensberry Promotions