Home Columns Nathan Heaney vs Brad Pauls – Results & Post Fight Report

Nathan Heaney vs Brad Pauls – Results & Post Fight Report

Nathan Heaney retained his British title but was unable to defeat a game Brad Pauls

By
Paul Mason
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Nathan Heaney and Brad Pauls put on a memorable British title fight in Birmingham. (Photo Credit: Queensberry)
Nathan Heaney and Brad Pauls put on a memorable British title fight in Birmingham. (Photo Credit: Queensberry)

At the top of another mammoth Magnificent Seven bill at Resorts World, Birmingham, Nathan Heaney made a successful first defence of his British middleweight title, but had to settle for a draw against Brad Pauls in a pulsating encounter.

Heaney (18-0-1, 6 KOs) took the title with an upset majority decision win against Denzel Bentley last November, while Pauls (18-1-1, 10 KOs) picked up the vacant English title in his last fight, stopping Mitchell Frearson in eight rounds last September.

Heaney made a bright start, landing with some accurate shots in the first two rounds, but Pauls had his successes in round three, closing the distance and fighting in bursts. Heaney was a step ahead in the action, and bloodied the challenger’s nose in the fifth, but Pauls remained spirited, and had his best session in round six with decent workrate.

After a competitive seventh, Pauls sprang into life in the eighth with a burst of punches, and he was warming to his task, applying gradual pressure to sap Heaney’s energy. Ahead of the penultimate round, Pauls’ corner told their man he needed a stoppage, and he heeded that warning, pushing Heaney to the brink with several blows that he did well to keep himself upright from.

The final frame saw another absorbing round of action, and Pauls gave it his all in search of the stoppage, but Heaney held firm, and it looked as though Heaney’s early dominance would count as the contest went to the scorecards.

 

One score of 116-113 for Heaney, and one at 115-114 for Pauls left the decision in the balance, and a 114-114 card ensured a three-way split draw.

Heaney and Pauls left it all on the line (Photo Credit, Queensberry)
Heaney and Pauls left it all on the line (Photo Credit, Queensberry)

 

Davies continues impressive run and Joyce dusts cobwebs off against Ali

Liam Davies (16-0, 8 KOs) became the new IBO super bantamweight champion in emphatic fashion, as he flattened Erik Robles Ayala (15-2, 9 KOs) in the second round of their meeting.

Davies had Ayala over at the start of the second with a massive left hand, and although the visitor survived the count, Davies swarmed over his opponent, trapping him against the ropes, and a frenzied attack forced the referee to intervene.

Joe Joyce (16-2, 15 KOs) began his comeback from back-to-back defeats to Zhilei Zhang, and ‘The Juggernaut’ halted Kash Ali (21-3, 12 KOs) in the tenth and final round of their heavyweight contest.

Joe Joyce looked a shadow of himself against Kash Ali (Photo Credit: Stephen Dunkley, Queensberry)
Joe Joyce looked a shadow of himself against Kash Ali (Photo Credit: Stephen Dunkley, Queensberry)

With less than 30 seconds remaining of the final frame, Joyce landed with a short, crunching right hand that had Ali heavily on the deck, where he was just about unable to beat the count.

Parker survives scare against Zeuge and McCann impresses.

Zach Parker (24-1, 17 KOs) carried on his renaissance since defeat to John Ryder, but the super middleweight had to get off the canvas after a slow start, before recording a points win over ten against former world champion, Tyron Zeuge (27-1-1, 15 KOs).

Parker was stunned by a right hand in the second round, and a follow-up attack bundled the Derby man to the canvas. Parker re-focused, and stamped his authority the remainder of the fight, taking the win by scores of 98-91, 97-92, and 96-94.

Dennis McCann (15-0-1, 8 KOs) added the vacant British super bantamweight title to his Commonwealth crown, and also picked up the vacant WBO Intercontinental bauble, as he clearly outscored Brad Strand (11-1, 3 KOs).

McCann impressed against Strand. (Photo Credit: Queensberry)
McCann impressed against Strand. (Photo Credit: Queensberry)
A right hand right on the mark put Strand over in round two, and a looping left on the resumption had the Liverpudlian on the retreat once more. McCann was largely dominant throughout, and eventually ran out a winner by scores of 118-111, 116-111 and 116-112.

Further undercard review

Pierce O’Leary (14-0, 9 KOs) retained his WBC International super lightweight title for a third time, as he took a ninth round stoppage win against Hovhannes Matirosyan (16-1, 10 KOs). The Irishman scored a knockdown in the opener with a short left hand, but the Belgian was spirited, and edged his way into the contest. The end came in the penultimate frame, as another left hook on the counter floored the visitor, and the referee waved the contest off.

 

The battle of the unbeatens went the way of Owen Cooper (10-0, 4 KOs), as he took the WBO European, and the vacant English welterweight title, by forcing Ethan James (12-1, 0 KOs) to retire after nine rounds of a scheduled ten rounder. James was on the canvas in the first round, and after taking a hard right hand at the end of the ninth frame, his corner decided to pull their man from battle.

Ezra Taylor (8-0, 6 KOs) moved up to ten round level for the first time, and halted Ghana’s Prince Oko Nartey (11-3, 10 KOs) in four rounds. Nartey was down in round two, and had a point deducted for holding in round three.

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