Unbeaten Nathan Wheatley steps up to six-rounds on the David Price undercard
Warrington’s Nathan Wheatley (9-0) will be back in action on July 27 at Bolton’s Macron Stadium on the undercard of former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion David Price’s (22-5) return from defeat.
‘The Wire’ will take part in his first six-rounder against an opponent yet to be confirmed in what will be the middleweight’s third appearance already this year on the MTK event that will see headliner Price begin his European title trail following defeat to Alexander Povetkin (34-1) last March.
The 29-year-old, trained by Matt Hatton, is full of confidence ahead of the new test, “I’ll be stepping up the sparring to incorporate more rounds and increasing the fitness side of things in preparation for this fight. I’ll be working harder than ever but looking forward to it though.”
The July 27 fight could take Wheatley’s win tally to double figures and will serve as his third outing in just 17 weeks.
A shoulder injury side-lined Wheatley for an entire year but he has bounced back in style to defeat Casey Blair (4-38) on points on March 31 at the Preston Guild Hall in front of the Box Nation TV cameras.
After shaking off the year’s worth of ring rust, he got straight back out again on May 12 and defeated Lewis van Poetsch (7-69-1) over four-rounds at the BT Convention Centre in Liverpool on a VIP Promotions show, dropping the former soldier in the third-round with a long right hook to secure a 40-35 points victory.
“It’s just what I needed after the 12-months out,” Wheatley beamed, “Matt’s doing a great job with me.”
World title contender Matthew Hatton has been training the former Bridgefoot ABC student since splitting from Kieran Farrell last year.
Farrell delivered a Central Area middleweight title shot for Wheatley after just five fights together, which he was forced to forfeit through injury.
The former schoolboy finalist, who experienced 50 amateur bouts, aims to return to the title mix soon with plans to compete at super-welterweight next time.
“I made weight a lot easier for the last fight, so will keep chipping away at it,” he said. “I want the Central Area first, but I’ll take it one fight at a time. I’m confident Matt will get me the right opportunities at the right time.”