Hardy Faces Joseph On Brooklyn Card

Brooklyn based Heather "The Heat" Hardy (18-0, 4 KOs) will return to the ring to face former title challenger Helen Joseph (9-3-1, 8 KOs) in a super bantamweight contest that highlights the undercard action on Saturday, March 4 from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The March 4 event is headlined by the welterweight world title unification showdown between Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia that headlines a Showtime televised card, coverage beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

By fight night, Hardy will have been out of the ring for six-and-a-half months, her longest stretch of inactivity, which was due to the new insurance regulations put in place by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), in effect since September. All boxing action in the State came to a halt until last month’s Barclays Center event. Dependent on her boxing income to support her family, Hardy sought out other ways to make ends meet. On January 14, Hardy had planned to make her MMA debut for Invicta in Kansas City, MO, however her opponent suffered an injury in training and the event was cancelled. Returning her full focus to boxing, Hardy is determined to conquer another tough challenge on the way to her first world title opportunity.

"I’m grateful and excited to be back in the ring at Barclays Center next month," said Hardy. "It will be my first fight since August. I’ve had to hustle extra hard these past few months since the insurance issue shut down the New York boxing scene for the last quarter of 2016. I even decided to take an MM fight in January to help supplement my income and pay some bills. However, my opponent dropped out the day before I was flying to Kansas City for the event. It’s been one disappointment after the next, so I am truly happy to be back at home where I belong, doing what I love."