The single mom from Brooklyn who became world featherweight champion and one of NYC’s most popular fighters opens up about her feminist roots, the fight for gender equity and life after boxing
Heather Hardy has experienced it all during her time as a professional fighter. A single mom and feminist who didn’t start boxing until well into her twenties, the Brooklyn native came up through the crucible of New York City’s club scene before finally winning the World Boxing Organization featherweight title in 2018.
Now 39, Hardy is up against a challenge she’s yet to confront in her decade-long career: bouncing back from defeat. Twenty months after suffering her first professional loss and ceding her title to fellow Brooklynite Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden, Hardy will climb into the ring with Montreal’s Jessica Camara in an eight-round lightweight bout at the top of Broadway Boxing’s inaugural Ladies Fight card – a new all-female boxing series streaming on UFC Fight Pass that promoter Lou DiBella has launched to keep veteran contenders busy and elevate up-and-coming prospects.