Nathan Heaney believes the delay to his WBA Continental Middleweight fight against Gerome Warburton has allowed him to get into “phenomenal condition”.
It was postponed because of an injury to another fighter, Moses Itauma, and the Stoke-on-Trent boxer said his first thought was that 10 weeks was a long time to wait.
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But he said: “I can’t believe how quick it’s gone.”
The 36-year-old hopes a win in Manchester on Saturday will set up a world title fight and said: “I want to return to Stoke as a world champion.”
Heaney said when he got the news about the postponement of the original fight, he had almost finished sending out 2,000 tickets to his friends, family and supporters.
He explained: “It’s weird because at the time I was thinking ‘oh my goodness it’s been moved and you’ve got another 10 weeks’, but it’s gone really quick actually.
“Normally, boxers train to reach peak condition just before the fight, you’re tracking every single meal, you’re training really, really hard and you’re just being very disciplined in what you do.”
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As the original date approached, he said he’d been thinking: “After the fight I will be eating takeaways every night and doing whatever I want.”
So, when the news of the postponement broke, although it was initially disappointing, there was an unintended silver lining for Heaney.
He added: “I’m in much better shape now.”
‘I’m going to enjoy every second’
Heaney is due to turn 37 the week after the fight and said: “His [Warburton’s] manager’s probably said ‘Heaney’s done, he’s finished, this is your opportunity’.
“Athletes don’t go to 37-years-old normally, so he’ll obviously be thinking I’m there for the taking”.
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The last time Heaney fought at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, it was following a loss and the boxer said he “didn’t enjoy it like I should have.”
But this time he will go into the fight full of confidence, adding: “I’m going to enjoy every second.”
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