Hardy v Serrano Set to Rumble at MSG
This Friday September 13, Heather “The Heat” Hardy (22-0, 4 KO’s) is aiming to be a bit of bad mojo for her latest foe Amanda Serrano (36-1-1, 27 KO’s). Their bout will stand as the first defense of Hardy’s WBO world featherweight title. The Heat won the vacant strap over Shelly Vincent on October 27, 2018. When Hardy and Serrano clash the interim WBC featherweight title will also hang in the balance. The iconic Madison Square Garden will play host to the meaningful bout. Fans at home can enjoy the bout via live stream by way of the DAZN app.
On paper, Amanda Serrano would appear to be the clear favorite in the upcoming bout. The versatile Puerto Rican is a seven-division champion and has 16 more professional fights than does Hardy. Furthermore, not only does Serrano have significantly more prizefights than Hardy, she has five more KOs than Hardy has professional outings, period. From this standpoint, it’d be easy to assume that Serrano would run away with this contest. Looks can be deceiving though!
A CLOSER LOOK
Despite the overall deficit in experience and knockouts, it would be a bad idea to overlook the determined and very rugged Heather Hardy. There is a reason she is undefeated! While Hardy may not have the most textbook technique around, her grittiness is second to none. She has had to dig deep in bloody battles to secure victory on a number of occasions. Along with her mental fortitude, Hardy has consistently fought at featherweight since 2015. Conversely, over the course of her last eight bouts, Serrano has fought in five different divisions.
Aside from greater divisional stability, Heather Hardy will also have the added advantage of doing battle in her own hometown. When she trades leather with Serrano in the Manhattan-based Madison Square Garden, she will be right around the corner from her native Brooklyn stomping grounds. In fact, her last bout against Shelly Vincent was also staged at MSG.
Heading into this upcoming bout, the two women have been overtly cordial with one another. Clearly, they do not harbor any bad blood with one another. Although, when the bell rings for round one, their pre-fight merriment is sure to dry up in a hurry! In the end, this is destined to be one fun prizefight between two of the more recognizable faces in women’s boxing.
By: Bakari Simpson
