With the summer approaching, a huge show looks set to take place at a football stadium in the UK after they applied for a boxing license to stage an event.
Following Fabio Wardley’s domestic dust-up with Frazer Clarke last weekend, fans around the country are calling for a rematch at Portman Road, home of Wardley’s beloved Ipswich Town.
Meanwhile, Leigh Wood’s fans are also demanding a rematch with Josh Warrington, to fulfil Wood’s dream of fighting at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground.
However, instead it appears as though Nathan Heaney will accomplish his goal first of boxing in a stadium, as he prepares to take centre stage at Stoke City’s bet365 Stadium.
A couple of weeks ago, Boxing Social reported how Carlos Adames will be upgraded from WBC interim title-holder to full middleweight world champion, ahead of a shock showdown with Heaney, who is currently ranked at fifteenth in the WBC 160lb rankings.
Stoke-on-Trent Live are now revealing that Stoke City have lodged an application to the local council, with the aim of staging Heaney’s ambitious world title attempt.
“This would be a once in a lifetime event for the city. I really want to do it – it’s what dreams are made of.
“I once dreamed of playing for Stoke City – I was OK at football but I was very small. If you’re not in an academy by the time you’re 16 there’s no chance.
“I have proved myself now as a legitimate fighter and I have the best support in the country. People come from all over the country to my fights – from Devon and Cornwall to Dundee, even from Belfast – and they deserve it. The atmosphere would be brilliant.
“I don’t want to overstate anything but people around me say I could absolutely sell the stadium out. It would be amazing. But I do want to fight for the world title in 2024, whether that is at Stoke or somewhere else.”
The former school teacher is expected to challenge for world honours on June 8th against the Dominican, with Heaney and his fans sure to be hoping that the boxing event is staged in the 35-year-old’s hometown.