Nathan Heaney v Sofiane Khati - Tale of the Tape: Weight, height, reach, trainers, records & more

We analyse the profile and characteristics of Nathan Heaney and Sofiane Kahti ahead of the pair's middleweight showdown at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena on Saturday 8th February 2025.

When Nathan Heaney fights on Saturday 8th February he will do so on a show entitled ‘The Last Dance’.

A night which belongs to Derek Chisora but one which Nathan Heaney will hope isn’t remembered as a final farewell for himself.

At 35 years old and perhaps having climbed his Everest already, Heaney needs to show he still has something to offer having lost to Brad Pauls last time out.

Will he keep his career alive against Frenchman Sofiane Khati?

Let’s look at the Tale of the Tape.

Nathan Heaney v Sofiane Khati - Tale of the Tape

	Nathan Heaney	Sofiane Khati
Age:	35	32
Nickname:	'Hitman'	N/A
Height:	6ft 1ins	6ft
Reach:	74 ins	72 ins
Weight:	Middleweight	Middleweight
Trainer:	Steve Woodvine	Unknown
Record:	18-1-1 (6 KOs)	17-5 (6 KOs)
Last Fight:	L v Brad Pauls (July 2024)	W v Noel Lafargue (December 2024)

Nathan Heaney - In Profile

Nathan Heaney has always been a realist when it comes to his career.

Beating Denzel Bentley to become British middleweight champion was his world title and capped off a feel-good story for the man from Stoke. But then came the difficult part.

Being a champion puts a target on your back and after fighting twice against Brad Pauls you could argue Heaney was lucky to come away with a draw as his best result over the two bouts.

With his moment in the sun now gone, Heaney must rebuild after showing the best and worst of himself in the rematch against Pauls.

The 35-year-old will always shift thousands of tickets which makes him a promoter’s dream but Frank Warren knows that Heaney must beat the Sofiane Khati’s of the world if he is to keep fighting on Queensberry shows.

Nathan Heaney’s rise to British champion put some warmth into a sport which can be so cruel, but on 8th February a new chapter must be written to avoid his story having an unhappy ending.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Engine	Defence
Grit	Upright
Pressure fighter	Fights with heart not head
Volume puncher	Tries too hard to entertain

Sofiane Khati - In Profile

Sofiane Khati could very well be the ideal opponent to give Nathan Heaney his 19th career win on 8th February.

The French middleweight champion is typical of the country’s boxing production line. Solid, not spectacular and lacks the necessary ingredients to move to world level – or sometimes even European.

Khati’s five defeats have came against opponents such as a former world champion in Vincenzo Gualtieri but also unheralded fighters such as Diego Natchoo.

In his last performance, however, against Noel Lafargue, you saw the problems Khati could pose Heaney. If the Englishman lets Khati build confidence he’s in for a long night and if he stays on the ropes there will be trouble ahead.

The fourth round stoppage win was a huge boost to Khati and gave him the French middleweight title. Beating Heaney, however, on a huge UK show could propel him towards a European title shot or a fringe EBU belt.

Heaney needs to be on his toes from the opening bell and push Khati back and keep him at distance. Doing this can earn him a points win but Khati has the capabilities against someone like Heaney to produce the upset of the night.  

Strengths	Weaknesses
Jab	Vulnerable to right hands
Putting shots together	Found wanting at higher level
All-rounder	Leaky defence
Aggression	Uncomfortable fighting on back foot