Brad Pauls knocks out Nathan Heaney to become British Middleweight Champion
The pair fought to a split-decision draw four months ago
Brad Pauls scored two knockdowns before stopping Nathan Heaney in the 12th round to become the new British Middleweight Champion.
In a rematch four months after fighting to a draw in March, Pauls landed a series of hard right hands and a big left hook at the beginning of the twelfth which sent Heaney tumbling backwards into the ropes.
With his back to the referee, Heaney failed to stand up before the count of ten and the contest was waved off.
Despite being a very competitive fight, Pauls was always landing the harder punches and the challenger came close to getting an earlier stoppage when he dropped Heaney in the fourth round with a well-timed right hook, before swarming him in the last fifteen seconds.
Still, Heaney showed good ring generalship as the taller man by using his jab and throwing a variety of punches.
In round one, the now-former champion was able to push Pauls back by connecting with a solid right hook to the head and then body.
And in the third, Heaney had noticeable success on the front foot again by landing a couple of crisp right hands.
But rounds five and six belonged to Pauls who found a home for more power punches which seemed to hurt Heaney and force him to clinch.
As the bout progressed into the seventh and eighth rounds, the Brits engaged in a toe-to-toe battle yet Pauls came out the fresher from exchanges as he seemingly carried more dynamite in both of his hands.
However, round nine saw Heaney land a right hook to Pauls body followed by a couple of strong left hooks, marking a moment in the contest when Pauls was affected by Heaney’s power.
With thirty seconds to go in the eleventh round though, Pauls unleashed a barrage of punches on a retreating Heaney who showed incredible toughness to hear the bell.
Indeed, last night’s contest at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham was a fitting sequel to a respectful rivalry between two fierce competitors.
Heaney-Pauls 1 was a highly entertaining bout and the rematch was arguably even better.
There were some who believed Pauls had done enough to get the decision in his first encounter with Heaney but he didn’t leave it in the judge’s hands this time.
Heaney, 35, suffered the first professional of his career and now has a record of 18-1-1.
Meanwhile, Pauls ‘The Newquay Bomb’ moves to 19-1-1 and has bounced back from his sole loss to Tyler Denny in February 2023.
