Heather “The Heat” Hardy (15-0, 3 KOs) has gained a tremendous amount of notoriety as a fighter since making her debut in 2012 which says a lot about her talent considering the lack of attention women’s boxing gets in the United States. She fights often (anywhere from 4-5 times a year) and always looks to put on a show while keeping her undefeated streak unblemished and will get the opportunity to shine again on April 16th on the undercard of Errol Spence Jr. – Chris Algieri in what may be the first on air women’s boxing match on PBC (Premier Boxing Champions).
“I’ll be fighting on April 16th at the Barclays Center. It’s going to be a PBC show where Chris Algieri and Errol Spence will be the main event,” Hardy told ThaBoxingVoice. “Right now Lou DiBella is pushing really hard to get women’s boxing on television. My opponent has yet to be announced/determined because we don’t know if the fight is going to be on the TV undercard or not. All of those things are kind of holding up the contract.”
Getting her fight aired on TV will be a battle itself as women’s boxing does not get that much attention in the United States. In fact, it is often shunned and neglected and the work that gets put in gets no recognition and the greatest reward is the victory itself because the purse is significantly smaller than what male boxers earn.
“We don’t get paid as much as the guys so in addition to all that training I have to sell tickets. The morning of my last fight I was sitting in a parent-teacher conference for my daughter because I really don’t have the luxury to fly away and do a six-week training camp in the mountains. I still have to pick her up and take her to school. I still have to have my full-time job. I have to market myself, promote myself and sell tickets.”
With everything that Heather Hardy has to do to fight and provide for her family, you can guarantee she is going to leave it all on the line and maybe one day she can get the money and the recognition of boxing fans that she along with other women boxers deserve in their home country.
