Retiring Stoke-on-Trent boxer Nathan Heaney has thanked his “very special” fans for their superb send-off at his final bout, saying his followers have “made” the best nights of his career.

The 37-year-old, a former British middleweight champion, lost on points to Welshman Gerome Warburton in Birmingham on Saturday.

He told BBC Radio Stoke: “The pressure I put on myself in the build-up thinking I had to win the fight, because if I don’t I’ve ruined everything – that’s the mentality I had going in.

“I knew it was close but in the end, when I’d officially lost, I looked out and there was a wall of 2,000 Stokies – probably more – and not a single one had left the venue early. They were all singing and they made me feel immediately that I hadn’t ruined anything.

“It’s them that have made it all anyway, I’ve just won the titles, but they’ve made these nights what they are.

“To every single person who was there, thank you, you’re very special people.”