This summer,former world championHeather Hardy (44), retired in 2024, revealed that she suffers from a traumatic brain injury as a result of the blows she received during her career. That announcement was accompanied by the creation of a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for her and her daughter.
“After years of taking blows for the sport I loved, I suffered a traumatic brain injury. The damage has affected my health, my vision, and my ability to work regularly enough to cover basic expenses”, the former boxer explained.
The damage has affected my health, my vision, and my ability to work regularly enough to cover basic expenses
The culminating moment of her career came in October 2018, when she defeated Shelly Vincent by unanimous decision and captured the WBO featherweight world title. In her next fight (2019), she would face Amanda Serrano, to whom she would lose by unanimous decision. In fact, between 2019 and 2023 she would fight only five times, with the last being a rematch against Serrano in August 2023. Months later, in May 2024, she announced that she would not continue competing in accordance with the medical recommendations she had received.
The thing is that now Hardy has sued Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) for $10 million, the promotional company whose public face is Jake Paul, under whose banner she most recently fought against Serrano. For that bout, the New York boxer earned the biggest purse of her career. The lawsuit she has filed has to do with alleged violations of the Muhammad Ali Reform Act due to negligence.
Hardy claims that the organizers ignored possible warning signs regarding her health condition and made sure the fight went ahead, also taking advantage of her precarious financial situation to pressure her. The boxer maintains that the event caused her a “career-ending brain injury,” with repercussions that go beyond a sporting career.
MVP’S RESPONSE
In a statement, Most Valuable Promotions has expressed its respect for Hardy, but they do not consider themselves responsible for any health problems she may have suffered. “Heather’s participation on our August 5, 2023 card was arranged through her promoter, Lou DiBella, who contracted the fight, and Heather publicly expressed her gratitude for the opportunity both before and after the bout. MVP followed the applicable protocols for the fight, Heather received medical clearance to compete from the athletic commission overseeing the event, and the bout took place under the authority and supervision of the commission in accordance with its standard medical and safety requirements,” they explain.
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