Heather Hardy Is the Definition of a FIGHTER

Published

10 years ago

November 16, 2014

Let me get this out of the way, straight up. She’s not the best fighter lacing up gloves today. She’s not destined to be a Hall of Famer, and it will be hard climb to get to a place where she’s headlining shows in big rooms. Sure, part of that is because she is a she, and female boxing is in a bit of a doldrums. But Heather Hardy, subject of the new documentary “Hardy,” which ran today at the NYC DOC festival and will run at the “Shadow Box” fest next month, undoubtedly deserves to get the filmic treatment, and deserves, if we factor in karma, to play on bigger stages, and have her story relayed, further and wider and with exceeding respect and admiration.

“Hardy,” executive produced by her boxing promoter, Lou Dibella, and his company BK Blu tells of a 32-year-old woman with an 11-0 (2 KOs) mark, who grew up in a rough and tumble section of Brooklyn called Gerritsen Beach. This is the sort of place which, if you want to be sort of stark and tactless, you could argue you escape from as much as move away from…and the movie explains why she deserves a second glance, and contemplation and appreciation of, even if you aren’t into watching women fight.

I spoke to Dibella about the film and the woman, who, it is clear, is the definition of a FIGHTER in all senses of the word to the combustible and charismatic fight promoter. “The takeaway from the film is that people will come away from it amazed at how much she’s gone through. It’s no accident why she’s a fighter! There are a lot of demons, and darkness and tragedy and obstacles she’s dealt with,” DiBella told me.

Indeed; Hardy doesn’t shy from admitting the hurdles she’s climbed and has to deal with to this day. Sexual abuse scarred her, but she dealt with it head on, and isn’t afraid to share her story, in a bid to minimize stigma, let other souls know that yes, it happens, and yes, you can fight on, keep punching, maybe get knocked to the mat, but dammit, you can get up and get your hand raised. “Heather is an Arturo Gatti, Micky Ward type fighter,” the promoter told me, respect clearly paramount in his tone.

And like those humble warriors, Hardy’s charisma stems largely from her humility. It is totally endearing, as when she told me that yes, she’d be hitting a premiere party for the flick but without an excess of positive anticipation. “I will go to the premiere but I’m not totally pleased about wearing a dress,” said the super bantam, who gloves up Dec. 3 on a Dibella show in NYC. “I will probably wear fancy Nike tights, with a nice jacket to cover up that I’m not wearing a fancy dress,” she told me.

A bit of background; Hardy’s house was washed away in hurricane Sandy two years ago, and that was a mere bullet point of what she’s dealt with. The man she knew as her dad wasn’t her real dad, she learned as a young teen, and you can learn more details when you see the film.

“Regarding admitting the abuse, the idea is through the film to reach people, to help them know that they can live through unpleasant experiences, that happened to me too, and they can turn it into a positive,” Hardy told me. “Women should see the film as empowering, and I like that it helps show that you can use boxing to help regain self esteem, self worth.”

I’m with Hardy there, in that I think and I know we in the sport can and must do a better job at sharing the upsides to the sport, and peoples’ participation in it. The net positive, all the kids taken off the streets, and fashioned into functioning members of society, rather than human wreckage and carnage-makers, is a no brainer to me…yet our press focuses on downsides, on bad actors, on long term damage…because that is the sexier and easier story to tell.

Verma, a news anchor and repoter in Fort Meyers, Florida, deserves props for recognizing the worth of Hardy’s message. She met Hardy at the famed Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, when Heather was homeless after Sandy wreaked havoc. “There was a raw and honest feel to her,” the film-maker told me. She’d like to give women’s boxing a hand up, help start a conversation about these hitters’ appeal to viewers and potential to make an impact on the premium networks. “I want viewers to watch and to be inspired and motivated, I want there to be some awareness of gender equality and inequality in the world as a whole. She got knocked down so many times, but she said I’m gonna make it, she came from really tough hood in Brooklyn, she dealt with misfortume and flipped it to her favor. She wants to get something done, she gets it done,” Verma said. “In Rocky I, the way people left the theater fired up, and shadow boxing, that’s what I want to viewers to feel! Then I know my job has been done.”

I was curious to know if Hardy wakes up these days, snaps her eyes open, and wonders first thought if this is all a dream.

“Not really,” she said. “Because this was not acting, it was just cameras following me. But I think the material is worth sharing, because not a lot of people get out of Gerritsen Beach. And if I can hit someone who feels stuck in s–t, that she can do it… I didn’t have money, I was just was focused. Gerritsen is working class, people get stuck in a nine to five, and they wake up, and they can’t wait to go to sleep. And they wait around for their parents to die so they move into their house. A lot of people float thru life and I didn’t want float.”

OK, can we unpack that? That hit of truth is more direct, and impactful, and candid and useful than you can derive from ten hours of talk therapy. That is why, I confess, I would like to see maybe a reality TV producer latch on this character, because she is so accessible, and low-key likeable and is a potent role model. This doc might just do the trick hint hint hint in that area.

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Michael Woods

Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

Published

5 hours ago

May 11, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Argentina's-Fernando-Martinez-Wins-His-Rematch-with-Kazuto-Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12^th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.

In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.

The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.

But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.

Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.

Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.

As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.

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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

Published

7 hours ago

May 11, 2025

David A. Avila

Emanuel-Navarrete-Survives-a-Bloody-Battle-with-Charly-Suarez-in-San-Diego

In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.

What do they feed these guys?

Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.

From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.

It was savage.

Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.

Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.

Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.

But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.

Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.

Interim IBF Lightweight Title

The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.

Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.

Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.

Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.

There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.

Muratalla was brief.

“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”

Perla Wins

Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.

Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

Published

21 hours ago

May 10, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Late-Bloomer-Anthony-Cacace-TKOs-Hometown-Favorite-Leigh-Wood-in-Nottingham

Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace.

Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.

In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.

Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasn’t at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.

Semi-Wind-Up

Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.

This was Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.

Other Bouts of Note

In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Ireland’s previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.

In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The referee’s scorecard read 96-94.

Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.

A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).

Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry

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