Nathan Heaney (18-0-1 6KOs) and Brad Pauls (18-1-1 10KOs) battled it out over 12-rounds in a sensational fight that saw both men exhaust everything they had.
Stoke-on-Trent’s Heaney had an enormous following as the local hero made his first defence since causing upset of the year when he beat Denzel Bentley last November.
The three judges couldn’t split the pair, scoring the contest 116-113 in favour of Heaney, 114-115 in favour of Pauls and a 114-114 draw, meaning the British title stayed in Staffordshire with Heaney.
Heaney looked disappointed after the result having controlled the early rounds, but Pauls finished stronger and had Heaney hurt late in the fight.
After the fight Heaney expressed his disappointment saying: “Gutted, I wanted to be a winner. The first six rounds I controlled it, then I let him in. I still thought I won.
“Brad was excellent to be fair, that’s what the British title does to people.”
From the opening bell Heaney utilised his jab well to set up fast combinations, his hand speed and footwork were causing Pauls problems.
The pace that both men set from the start was electric, which increased the already raucous volume of the fans in the arena.
Power puncher Pauls seemed to be getting frustrated as he was unable to close the distance and Heaney was landing quality straight shots at range.
Pauls had a decent Newquay following of his own, but the ‘Newquay Bomb’ was the clear villain on the night as the traveling 2000 Stoke City fans chanted Heaney’s name throughout.
After a fast start from Heaney, Pauls started to find his rhythm in the middle rounds. Better head movement allowed him to get closer to Heaney and land good shots, particularly his left hook.
The fight erupted further in the eighth round when Pauls caught Heaney with a hurtful right hand that rocked him to his boots and sent his mouth guard flying out of the ring.
Somehow Heaney managed to stay on his feet but was holding desperately as Pauls threw everything he had at ‘The Hitman’ who just about weathered the storm.
The referee called a halt to the action to allow Heaney’s mouthpiece to be replaced, which allowed him to have a much need couple of seconds to steady his legs.
Heaney boxed well in the next round slowing the pace and seemed to have recomposed himself, boxing at range and keeping dangerous Pauls on the end of his jab.
The pair continued their back and forth at an explosive pace, with every round becoming more and more gruelling. Pauls landed a vicious combination in the eleventh that stunned Heaney again.
The Champion somehow refused to go down again and was able to withstand big shots and see out the round as Paul searched for the knockout.
Both fighters were rightfully spent going into the last round, but it did not stop them from throwing everything they could until the final bell of an unbelieve contest.
As the draw was announced, the belt was replaced around Heaney’s waist, and the pair shared a very respectful embrace.
Pauls said: “He has the home crowd behind him, but I think we put on a good show. I’d love to do it again. I like Nathan, but I just want his belt.”
Heaney ended the evening by saying: “I just want people to enjoy my fights, that’s all that matters. As long as I can entertain people and try my best.”
Undercard
Liam Davies (16-0 8 KOs) became the IBO super-bantamweight world champion as he beat highly rated Erik Robles (15-2 9 KOs) by knockout in the second round after a dominant performance.
Davies started quickly and had Robles backed up to ropes almost immediately after the opening bell and piled on the pressure.
In the second round Davies landed a huge right hand that dropped Robles to the canvas hard. Somehow the Mexican got to his feet and the referee allowed him to shakily continue.
It didn’t take long for Davies to finish to job as he landed another big combination moments after, which saw the referee wave the fight off.
After picking up the vacant IBO belt an emotional Davies dedicated the win to his late grandfather. He stated he wants more belts and called out pound-for-pound great Naoya Inoue.
Joe Joyce (16-2 15 KOs) started his comeback after trail as he beat Kash Ali (21-3 12 KOs) by knockout in the 10th round.
Heavyweight Joyce weighed in at a career heaviest and started slow but upped the tempo in the later rounds. He was able to walk down his opponent and stopped a very game Ali in the final round.
Ali boxed on the back foot and gave a brave account on himself, hoping to land a big shot on the counter and frustrated Joyce at times.
Joyce was still susceptible to over hand rights and was caught on a number of occasions but took them well.
A slow Juggernaut performance, his aim is to box three time this year after his defeats to Zhilei Zhang last year, and will hope to remain active to build on this performance.
Zach Parker (24-1 17 KOs) survived an early scare and beat former world champion Tyron Zeuge (27-2-1 15 KOs) on points in a ten-round contest.
The English middleweight was dropped after getting caught with a quality right hook in the second but regained his composer and outboxed the German to a unanimous decision win.
Straight forward after the knockdown, Parker looked flashy and landed shots at range. Zeuge was unable to capitalise on the knockdown but was a tough opponent throughout.
Parker’s rebuild continues after defeat to John Ryder in 2022 and he will be looking for another step up in the near future.