Middleweight contender Nathan Heaney is putting a brave face on things despite the disappointment of his January 24 Manchester fight being postponed.
Heaney was set to face Graeme Warburton at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena on January 24, but an injury to bill-topper Moses Itauma means the whole card has been pushed back to March 28.
It has hit Heaney, 19-1-1 (6 KOs), particularly hard, making him a victim of his own success as he had sold more than 2,000 tickets.
The fight is still on, the original tickets are still valid. But Heaney is understandably upset for those who were excited to see the charismatic Stoke man back in action in 10 days’ time.
“It’s bollocks,” said Heaney, who has already set about contacting some 2,000 people. “For me it’s more frustrating because I’ve literally done thousands of tickets and people have booked hotels and trains.”
Heaney got a call from manager Errol Johnson – after Heaney had just dropped his kids at school – informing him of the switch, having received countless messages from fans asking him whether the news was true.
“It’s the most tickets I’ve ever sold,” Heaney said. “What’s frustrating is my supporters don’t care about the rest of the card, they just want to see my fight.”
Heaney, 36, has racked up more than 500 miles hand-delivering tickets over the Christmas period and takes on the cost of postage himself, which is about $5 per item.
“It’s part of the game,” he lamented. “And as long as I’m still fighting that’s the main thing. I genuinely care about the promotion and the promoter and I want them to be successful and I want the best for my supporters, too. I’m disappointed but I also always want to say thank you to my supporters. This is the sport. I get it.”
