Heather Hardy

Heather Hardy (born January 25, 1982) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist. In boxing, she held the WBO featherweight title from 2018 to 2019. She is also a trainer, living and working in Brooklyn, New York.^[2][3][4] As of September 2020, she is ranked as the world's third best active female featherweight by BoxRec^[5] and fourth by The Ring.^[6]

Early life and family[]

Heather Hardy was born on January 25, 1982 to John and Linda Hardy^[7] and is of Irish descent.^[8][9] She has two younger siblings, Kaitlyn and Colin. Hardy had married her highschool sweetheart in 2004, but after some hard times the pair divorced in 2010.^[10][4][11] Hardy was raised in Gerritsen Beach in South Brooklyn.

While in school, Hardy was active in athletics, aspiring to become the first female pitcher for the New York Yankees. Hardy went on to major in Forensic Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan.^[3] She graduated at the age of 22.

Boxing career[]

Heather started boxing in 2010 when she was going through a rough patch in her life: she was working a series of miscellaneous jobs to support her daughter, sister, and nephew and finalizing a divorce with her husband who would not pay child support. Within three weeks of training, Hardy, a 28 year old rookie, had her first fight in front of an average sized audience in Long Island, and won. Even though her first fight was just meant for fun, it helped her find out that boxing was her calling. ^[12] Regarding her first time in the ring, Hardy said "I'm shy by nature, so walking to the ring was like heading to the gas chamber. I'm probably exaggerating the crowd size, but it felt like I was in the Macy's Parade. When I got to my corner, a cousin told me to pretend a tiger was dropped in the ring and only one of us was getting out alive. I pummeled that girl so bad. And for the first time in my life, I felt like something was all mine. Ever since, I've had the passion to beat up the world. I still fight that way". Shortly after, she quickly began winning other kickboxing and Muay Thai titles.^[13] Her determination and passion were soon noticed when she caught the eye of a professional trainer who offered to let her train at Gleason's Gym. Hardy began to grow in popularity on the boxing scene and soon became known for her tenacity and determination in and out of the ring. In regards to what others thought about her fame, she mockingly said "'Yeah right, who's this little blonde white girl with the braids?' They knew me quick because I started tearin' ass". Despite her newfound popularity, Hardy remains humble; she can still be found selling tickets before her fights and training clients at Gleason's.^[13] In 2016, Hardy made major strides for women's boxing by landing a televised gig on NBCSN against Shelly Vincent.^[14]

Mixed martial arts career[]

Invicta Fighting Championship[]

Hardy was scheduled to make her professional MMA debut against Brieta Carpenter at Invicta FC 21. However, the bout was cancelled due to an injury by Carpenter.^[15]

Bellator MMA[]

Hardy made her professional MMA debut at Bellator 180 in a flyweight bout against Alice Yauger on June 24, 2017 at the Madison Square Garden.^[16] She won the fight via TKO in the third round.^[17]

Hardy faced Kristina Williams in a flyweight contest at Bellator 185.^[18] She lost the bout via TKO due to a doctor stoppage in the second round after a head kick from Williams shattered her nose.^[19]

Hardy faced Ana Julaton on February 16, 2018 at Bellator 194.^[20] She won the fight via unanimous decision.^[21]

Hardy faced Taylor Turner at Bellator 222 on June 14, 2019. She lost the fight via first round TKO.^[22]

On July 10, 2021, it was announced that she was no longer under contract with Bellator.^[23]

In the media[]

Following her rise to fame, Hardy has been a persistent voice for women's boxing. In 2013, shortly after women's boxing was declared as a featured sport in the 2012 London Olympics, an independent film director named Natasha Verma tackled the subject of the gender wage gap in boxing through her film "Hardy".^[24] She interviewed Hardy on her experiences and talked about how she was changing the face of a generally male dominated sport.^[24]

In 2016, Hardy partnered with Dove on their #MyBeautyMySay campaign.^[25][26]

Professional boxing record[]

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
25	Loss	22–2 (1)	Jessica Camara	UD	8	May 14, 2021	Embassy Suites Nashville SE, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S.
24	Loss	22–1 (1)	Amanda Serrano	UD	10	Sep 13, 2019	Madison Square Garden Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.	Lost WBO featherweight title; For vacant WBAN and interim WBC featherweight title
23	Win	22–0 (1)	Shelly Vincent	UD	10	Oct 27, 2018	Madison Square Garden Theater, New York, USA	Won vacant WBO featherweight title
22	Win	21–0 (1)	Iranda Paola Torres	UD	8	Apr 21, 2018	Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA	Won NABF featherweight title
21	Win	20–0 (1)	Edina Kiss	UD	8	May 18, 2017	Paramount Theater, Huntington, New York, USA	Retained WBC International female featherweight title
20	Win	19–0 (1)	Edina Kiss	UD	8	Mar 4, 2017	Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA	Retained WBC International featherweight title
19	Win	18–0 (1)	Shelly Vincent	MD	10	Aug 21, 2016	Ford Amphitheater, Coney Island, New York, USA	Retained WBC International featherweight title
18	Win	17–0 (1)	Kirstie Simmons	UD	8	Jun 25, 2016	Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA
17	Win	16–0 (1)	Anna Donatella Hultin	TKO	4 (8) 0:48	Apr 16, 2016	Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA
16	Win	15–0 (1)	Noemi Bosques	UD	8	Dec 5, 2015	Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA
15	Win	14–0 (1)	Renata Domsodi	RTD	6 (10), 2:00	Aug 1, 2015	Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA	Retained WBC International super bantamweight title
14	Win	13–0 (1)	Noemi Bosques	SD	8	May 29, 2015	Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA
13	NC	12–0 (1)	Renata Dosmodi	NC	3 (8), 1:57	Apr 11, 2015	Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA	Retained WBC International super bantamweight title
12	Win	12–0	Elizabeth Anderson	UD	10	Dec 13, 2014	BB Kings Blues Club & Grill, New York, New York, USA
11	Win	11–0	Crystal Hoy	MD	10	Oct 15, 2014	BB Kings Blues Club & Grill, New York, New York, USA	Won vacant WBC International super bantamweight title
10	Win	10–0	Jackie Trivilino	TD	7 (8)	Jun 14, 2014	Roseland Ballroom, New York, New York, USA
9	Win	9–0	Nydia Feliciano	UD	8	Mar 21, 2014	Aviator Sports Complex, Brooklyn, New York USA
8	Win	8–0	Christina Fuentes	SD	8	Feb 12, 2014	Roseland Ballroom, New York, New York, USA
7	Win	7–0	Ana Laura Gomez	TKO	2 (10) 1:44	Nov 9, 2013	Aviator Sports Complex, Brooklyn, New York USA	Won vacant UBF International super bantamweight title
6	Win	6–0	Cassie Trost	TKO	4 (6) 1:30	Jul 24, 2013	Roseland Ballroom, New York, New York, USA
5	Win	5–0	Mikayla Nebel	UD	6	Apr 4, 2013	Roseland Ballroom, New York, New York, USA
4	Win	4–0	Peggy Maerz	UD	4	Jan 23, 2013	BB Kings Blues Club & Grill, New York, New York, USA
3	Win	3–0	Ivana Coleman	UD	4	Dec 8, 2012	Resorts World Casino, Queens, New York, USA
2	Win	2–0	Unique Harris	UD	4	Oct 24, 2012	Roseland Ballroom, New York, New York, USA
1	Win	1–0	Mikayla Nebel	UD	4	Aug 2, 2012	Roseland Ballroom, New York, New York, USA

Mixed martial arts record[]

References[]