Boxer recognised in city's sporting hall of fame

Nathan Heaney will be formally inducted into the Stoke-on-Trent Sporting Hall of Fame in January

Mid-November marked a year since Stoke-on-Trent boxer Nathan Heaney beat Denzel Bentley to win the British Middleweight Championship.

He recently announced his next fight would take place at Manchester's Co-op Arena in February, and he has also been told this week that he will be inducted into his hometown's sporting hall of fame.

It means he'll join the likes of Sir Stanley Matthews, Eddie Hall, Jazmin Sawyers, Phil The Power Taylor and Gordon Banks.

It was an "amazing" honour Heaney said. "I appreciate that someone's even considered me to be on there to be honest."

He said that while the British title was at the time the greatest achievement of his sporting life, induction into the city's sporting hall of fame had surpassed it.

"It's an incredible thing," he explained, adding his wife was in tears when the news was announced, and that he had no idea about it beforehand.

He will attend an official ceremony, where he will be formally inducted, on 23 January.

The ceremony is due to take place just as he is in the final preparation stages ahead of his next fight, on 8 February.

The final details were still being negotiated, Heaney said, but a bout was now "set in stone".

Heaney says hundreds of people have already booked tickets for his forthcoming bout

He added that hundreds of people had already bought tickets to the match, and revealed how he remained as loyal to his fans as they were to him - often hand-delivering tickets, and opting for paper ticket rather than electronic passes to help them save money.

His last fight ended in defeat, so the forthcoming match will offer a chance at redemption.

"My last time was the first time I'd ever suffered a defeat," he said.

"Last week marked seven years since I made my professional debut, so it's the first time in roughly seven years that I'd been beaten. It was gutting.

"This is the first one back where it's like you've got to get back on to where you were before that loss."

Heaney was ranked fifth in the world by the World Boxing Association prior to his loss to Brad Pauls in July.

The bout was a rematch after the pair drew their first encounter in March.

Heaney also said it was still his aim to organise a fight at the Bet 365 Stadium on home turf – but he would need a few more wins under his belt before that happened.