JAMES HENEGHAN BELIEVES he thrived in the brightly lit environment of making his first appearance under the Frank Warren banner a couple of weeks back.

The Mersey middleweight – although he states an intention to make it down to super welter – took himself to 5-0 in the pro ranks with a decision victory over Dwain Grant at York Hall.

However, he acknowledges that his hands-low, snappy punching style will be far more ideally suited to taking on an ambitious opponent, rather than one focused on survival and employing a high, tight guard.

That, Heneghan suspects, is when the stoppages will be added to his armoury.

“I enjoyed it,” reflected the 22-year-old. “I would have liked an opponent who was more into coming forward and wanted a bit more of a fight with me, but that will come in the next few fights.

“It was different from what I’ve been used to, it was a lot more high production and there was all the media, weigh-ins and stuff. I am just looking forward to doing it again.

“I think you have got to take it all in your stride because it is all part of it, so enjoying it is the main thing. Some fighters let it faze them a bit but you have got to go out there and take it all in.”

The stylish southpaw from the Wirral quite literally shoots from the hip when trading leather, a tactic less pleasing on the eye when an opponent is reluctant to return fire.

“It is definitely not,” concurred the John Gillies-trained puncher who was having his first pro fight outside of Liverpool. “My style looks the most effective when people are throwing at me and I’m making them miss. When they stop throwing at me it becomes less effective and I’ve got to go looking for it a bit more, which I can do, but prefer not to.

“We weren’t expecting it from him because he has taken rounds off good fighters and has even beaten an unbeaten one. We heard in the build-up he was coming to win so we were expecting a bit more from him, but people expect me not to hit hard because of my style and when I hit them I can see it in their faces that they are hurt and then they cover up.

“Maybe that is a factor,” added Heneghan, who now wants to get cracking onto more meaningful assignments with potentially titles on the table.

“Yeah definitely, I have said from the beginning that I am not in it just to build up a record that looks good. It will be hard, tough fights that bring the best out of me and you will see how effective my style is against people who come to win.

“I think being in competitive fights is the only way to show people how good I am. What I would like is to fight people of a similar age with a similar record and I have said that from the start. I want someone who will come to fight, another good prospect.”

Meanwhile, Heneghan went on to explain why the stage name of ‘The Wizard’ has been added to his ring moniker.

“When I first joined up with Warren Boxing Management they started calling me the ‘Whizz Kid’ but that one didn’t stick. I’ve changed it to ‘The Wizard’ now and hopefully it is because I am doing good things in the ring, so we will see how we go.”

UNBEATEN MERSEYSIDE MIDDLEWEIGHT James Heneghan has signed a promotional agreement with Frank Warren and Queensberry Promotions.

The 22-year-old from the Wirral has reached 4-0 in his professional career with his wins coming over the four-round distance and all staged in Liverpool, with his debut having taken place at Olympia, Liverpool in April of last year.

The flashy southpaw, trained by John Gillies at the Four Corners Gym, campaigned as an amateur over 40 fights – losing only six – and won a number of area titles and North West championships, while also boxing internationally.

“I am over the moon and it makes all the hard work worthwhile with getting to sign with a big Hall of Fame promoter,” said Heneghan on becoming a Queensberry fighter. “I think I needed a boost after not being able to fight and this gives me something to work towards.

“It has been hard with having no certain dates while everything has been upside down, so this gives me a big lift to carry on training hard.”

Heneghan took inspiration in July from seeing three fellow Mersey men in Nick Ball, Andrew Cain and Brad Strand perform on the BT Sport stage and he believes there will be the strength in depth moving forward to take the show on the road back to Liverpool when fans return to ringside.

“Definitely, between those three from Everton Red, myself, JJ Metcalf and Sam Maxwell, if everyone keeps on performing then there should really be a big chance of shows coming back to Liverpool.”

Style-wise, Heneghan promises that doesn’t conform to the conventional and insists he is a risk-taker that fans will enjoy watching.

“It’s different and everything you are taught not to do, really. Like hands down, reacting without my hands being up at all. I think why some people like it is because there are risks involved because, with your hands constantly down, you are going to catch one, aren’t you?

“That is the risk I take and it is the way I fight. When my hands are up I don’t react as quickly as when my hands are down. I like to see everything!”

Promoter Frank Warren added: “I am delighted to add another quality young prospect to our ranks and James comes highly recommended. We are developing a strong pool of top young fighters in the Liverpool region and, when things finally get back to normal, we will have huge scope to deliver big shows for the fans up there.

“James operates in a marquee weight division with a style very much of his own and I am looking forward to guiding him towards title success as his career progresses.”