Female ring warrior Heather Hardy, known as “The Heat” during her always exciting career, has taken to social media to emotionally announce her retirement from fighting. The former WBO featherweight champion was due to embark on a new adventure this Saturday, this in the world of bare-knuckle fighting. But now the 42 year old has said she has been strongly advised by doctors to call it a career.
Brooklyn’s Hardy – who walks away with a 24-3(4) record, her career seeing her rumble with the likes of Amanda Serrano (twice), Shelly Vincent (also twice), and Noemi Bosques (twice again) – revealed on social media how she runs the risk of going blind if she fights again. And this, Heather said, is not something she is willing to do.
“My fight for May 11 is off. After my last fight with Amanda [Serrano], my vision remained blurred for a few days. I went for an MRI and to get my eyes checked while I was still in TX and it was diagnosed the after-effects of a concussion [but in] six to eight months I should be fine,” Hardy wrote. “So basically I needed a fight, and it (the vision issue) never got better. My daughter is in college. Everyone thinks I made millions in my career but I didn’t, I went pay check to pay check keeping that kid in the best neighbourhood so she could go to the best schools. And I needed to take the fight, so long story short, a month into training for Christine [Ferea] and everything got worse with my sight. I was down to 123 pounds because I couldn’t eat, I wasn’t sleeping I was so weak.
“I hadn’t told anyone how bad it was, not my boyfriend, not my coaches. I thought I could make it through the ten-minute fight, but after a very light sparring session I couldn’t see s**t for two days. I didn’t eat or sleep from Friday to Monday, and I knew I was too weak to do this s**t. After finally seeing a doctor, he said I’ve had too many concussions. When you have a concussion, a piece of your brain dies and you never get it back. Imagine that? In ten years I’ve had too much brain damage. I can’t get any more or else I won’t be able to see. No running, no jogging, no jumping rope, and no getting hit in the head. So I said the thing ya know what that means.”
Anyone who takes the time to read Heather’s heartfelt announcement will come away knowing just how much all fighters risk each and every time they set foot into the ring. Fighters really do lay it all on the line. And Hardy did it not for glory or for belts, but primarily to support her daughter. How can anybody not admire this?
All that’s left to be said is, let’s all hope Heather Hardy can enjoy the rest of her long life and that she fully recovers from the trauma she endured whilst fighting for our entertainment. She deserves nothing less.
Happy retirement, “Heat,” and thanks for the great action fights.
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