Nathan Heaney: New British middleweight champion targets world title shot in Stoke

New British middleweight champion Nathan Heaney hopes to headline a card at Stoke City's bet365 Stadium with a world title shot next summer.

Stoke-on-Trent's 'Hitman' upset Denzel Bentley by majority decision to win the Lonsdale Belt at the Manchester Arena.

The unbeaten 34-year-old is now eyeing a bout with WBO and IBF champion Janibek Alimkhanuly of Kazakhstan.

"A world title at Stoke City, that is something dreams are made of," Heaney told BBC Radio Stoke.

"That win on Saturday made it much closer to being a reality."

Heaney claimed an 18th successive professional victory despite going into the bout against defending champion and former world title challenger Bentley as a considerable underdog.

"I called [promoter] Frank Warren live on air and said 'I've got to hold you to your promise' - because he said the winner will fight for a world title next year," Heaney added.

"I know they were most likely thinking of sending Denzel to fight Janibek - I obviously ruined that plan a little bit and I just want them to stick my name in there now.

"I said the British title was a historic moment but no-one has ever fought for a world title from Stoke-on-Trent."

Heaney was backed by more than 1,700 travelling fans in Manchester and BBC boxing pundit Steve Bunce believes a bout at the Championship side's ground would be a big hit.

"If you put some tickets on sale at 9am this morning, you'd do about 15,000 in the first 20 minutes and when the opponent is named, you'd do 25,000 outdoors in Stoke, no problem whatsoever," Bunce said.

Nathan Heaney (left) was adjudged the winner by 117-111 and 116-113 margins on two scorecards with the third judge scoring the bout a draw

From 'going nowhere' to Britain's best

Heaney's flawless record since turning professional is in stark contrast to his fortunes in the unpaid ranks and he believes his title win is testimony to the hard work he and his team have put in.

"I was an underachieving amateur - if you knew how many losses I had, particularly as a young boy, you'd think 'that lad is going absolutely nowhere in the sport'," he added.

"But as I got older and became a senior, I started developing more and just started applying myself to the sport a lot more."

Heaney said he will never forget the roar of the crowd that accompanied his name being announced as the winner against London's Bentley.

"One of my friends said it was the greatest night of his life. It's just amazing - I know how much it means to me but to see how much it means to everyone else as well," he added.

"There were quite a few in the arena that were supporting me that didn't think I'd win - but I think that's even better.

"They still went to support me, they still paid for the tickets to be there and back me no matter what, even when they thought I wasn't going to win.

"The noise and electricity, people were saying there were grown men crying, that just shows how much it means to them.

"Bentley said 'the crowd can't fight for you' - and I know they can't but they can certainly make you become something else and that's what they do every single time I'm in there.

"I was having to be patient in the fight but they never stopped singing, it's just incredible what they do and what they've done for me."