Frenchman Sofiane Khati shocked the crowd at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena this evening, stopping fan favorite Nathan Heaney in seven rounds.

Heaney, cheered on by 2,000 of his faithful Stoke-on-Trent supporters, was stopped for the second consecutive fight after losing his British middleweight title to Brad Pauls last year.

The opener was an entertaining affair. Heaney, now 18-2-1 (6 KOs), came out behind his long left jab like he so often does and Khati, now 18-5 (7 KOs), attempted to get past it. As the round went on, Heaney followed up his jab with his long right cross and landed one flush on the chin of Khati, but Khati took it well. The second followed a similar pattern, with Heaney fighting behind his stiff left hand and Khati doing his best to get on the inside.

When the Frenchman got there he had success, but he often had to eat a sharp right hand in order to do so. Khati, 32, seemed to bust up Heaney’s nose in the fourth and was now the one pressing the action. Heaney did not look comfortable boxing on the back foot and took a couple of right hands before the session came to a close.

Heaney, now 35, improved in the fifth, and was winning the round until two sharp left hooks made him stumble into the ropes. Heaney grabbed hold of Khati to recover and was able to evade further punishment through to the bell. Heaney had more success in the sixth but he was too stiff and rigid and the much faster Khati was able to counter him well. At the start of the seventh Khati landed a violent left that shook Heaney. He then followed it up with a right which sent Heaney stumbling to the canvas.

Heaney did well to pick himself and quickly spat out his gum shield in order to gain a precious few seconds to recover. He then fought with grit and heart as Khati came in for the kill. However, it did not matter and referee Bob Williams jumped in at 1:08 of Round 7 to save Heaney from a further beating.

Prior to that, Jack Rafferty successfully defended his British junior welterweight title for the first time, stopping Reece MacMillan in seven rounds.

Rafferty, now 25-0 (16 KOs), pressed the action from the opening bell and established his jab early in the first round. MacMillan, now 17-2 (2 KOs), was game but it seemed as though he did not have enough tools in his locker to deal with Raffery. The champion continued to push forward and in the third round switched his attacks to the body of MacMillan.

MacMillan, 29, didn’t shy away and landed a right hand of his own but Rafferty responded well to win the round. Rafferty, 29, landed a thudding right to the midsection of MacMillan, who spat out his gum shield to gain a few much-needed seconds of respite. MacMillan responded well and finished the round on the front foot, landing several shots before the sound of the bell.

Rafferty, after a stern word from his corner, came out in the fifth determined not to let MacMillan grow in confidence. He pressed forward landing his stiff left jab but MacMillan was still able to land the odd shot here and there. Rafferty’s punches looked as though they were starting to have an effect on MacMillan in the sixth. The body attack which he had sustained over the last few rounds was slowing MacMillan down and, as he sat on the ropes, Rafferty unloaded. MacMillan was thankful to hear the bell as it looked as though he was seconds away from taking a knee after another wave of shots from Rafferty.

The sixth was the beginning of the end and by the seventh it was clear MacMillan was struggling. Rafferty knew it too and so he pressed on, landing another body shot that forced MacMillan to retreat. Rafferty followed it up with a straight right hand that rocked back the head of MacMillan and his corner threw in the towel. Referee Mark Bates, however, did not see it and MacMillan took another two rights before the contest ended. The time of the stoppage was one minute and 37 seconds of Round 7.

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