Heather Hardy, struggling with traumatic brain injury, appeals for financial help
GoFundMeHeather Hardy, former WBO featherweight champion and women’s Hall of Fame inductee, is appealing for help after the effects of her fighting career resulted in traumatic brain injury.
The 44-year-old, who twice lost 10-round decisions to Amanda Serrano, needs financial assistance to cover “basic living expenses and necessities” for herself and her daughter.
“My name is Heather ‘The Heat’ Hardy, and I gave everything I had to boxing,” said Hardy in her GoFundMe campaign. “A Brooklyn fighter, single mother, WBC International champion, and former WBO Featherweight World Champion, I built my career the hard way—round by round, fight by fight, often while working and raising my daughter. I fought in an era when women had to force doors open, and I always tried to give fans championship moments they’d never forget.”
When a working single mother in her late 20s, Hardy started boxing at Brooklyn’s famed Gleason’s Gym and had her first amateur bout in 2011. Aged 29, she won the USA Boxing national female featherweight title just two months later and turned professional in August 2012.
Hardy went on to win the vacant WBO featherweight title in October 2018 via unanimous decision over Shelly Vincent at Madison Square Garden but lost the belt in her next fight to Serrano.
On the advice of doctors, Hardy retired in May 2024 with a record of 24-3 (4 KOs) and an MMA record of 2-2. Her last bout in boxing was another loss to Serrano, again on points after 10 rounds, in August 2023.
“Now I’m facing the hardest fight of my life outside the ring,” Hardy said. “After years of taking punches for the sport I loved, I suffered a traumatic brain injury. The damage has affected my health, my vision, and my ability to work consistently enough to cover basic living expenses and necessities.
“If my fights ever inspired you, if you cheered for my championships, or if you've ever given everything to a job only to have it take your health and leave you without help, please consider donating and sharing this fundraiser… Every contribution helps me to meet my immediate living needs while I focus on my health, stability, and the next chapter of my life after boxing.”
Hardy’s campaign, active since July, has thus far raised $34,874 of its $100,000 target.
