Pressure is all on retiring veteran ahead of Warburton Heaney rematch, says Welshman

Gerome Warburton expects a very different atmosphere in Birmingham

Warburton beat Heaney on points in March to win the WBA Continental Middleweight title, but a rematch was not originally planned.

Their first agreement did not include a rematch clause, and the 31-year-old Welshman had started looking at other options, including a possible world title fight.

That changed when Warburton was told Heaney wanted him as his final opponent before retiring.

“We got a phone call to say that Nathan Heaney said that he wants his last fight to be against you. Would you take it?” Warburton said.

He had already experienced the pressure of facing Heaney in front of a huge home crowd in Manchester. Around 15,000 people watched their first meeting, with more than 2,000 Heaney supporters travelling from Stoke-on-Trent.

“There was a lot of pressure on me to win the fight — I don't know where I'd have gone if I'd have lost it,” he told BBC Sport Wales.

“But I took the opportunity with both hands, dealt with everything in the best possible way I could and got the job done.”

The second meeting will take place at BP Pulse Live, with Heaney, 37, preparing for the final bout of his professional career. Warburton believes his experience of fighting away from home will help him deal with the occasion, while Heaney faces the added weight of knowing it will be his last time in the ring.