Heather Hardy: The former world champion left behind by boxing

Hardy’s route into boxing was far removed from the traditional path.

She had already graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York with a degree in forensic psychology and idolised the late Supreme Court justice and women’s rights pioneer Ruth Bader Ginsburg before she even conceived the idea of a career in boxing.

Hardy knew she was a “powerful woman” but was unsure how to put her powers to best use.

Trying to make ends meat as a single mum and working anywhere between two to six jobs at one time, Hardy first stepped into a boxing gym in 2010 as a way to get a break from the daily grind. It soon became a passion and potentially a way out as she strived to provide a better quality of life for her daughter.

In April 2011, Hardy, aged 29, competed in her first amateur contest and became the US national featherweight champion just two months later.

After making her professional debut in the summer of 2012, Hardy embarked on a six-year unbeaten run, spanning 23 contests and culminating in a victory against Shelly Vincent for the WBO featherweight title at the Theater, inside Madison Square Garden.

She also challenged herself in the world of mixed martial arts and competed four times under the banner of promotion Bellator – winning two and losing two.

A first defeat in the boxing ring came at the hands of Serrano, a seven-division world champion, when they first met in 2019 and she retired with an overall record of 24 wins, three losses and one no-contest.

Hardy achieved that success inside the ring despite facing challenges few could ever imagine or would wish to experience in her personal life.

“There was everything from hurricanes to homelessness and house fires,” she says.

“We were on the street with my parents living in a church basement, anything that could happen did happen.

“But I’m sitting here because I have faith in God and I’ve walked with him this entire path. It’s a simple idea that you walk right, you do right and you don’t look back. You don’t give up, you don’t stop and what you deserve will come.”