Heather Hardy is more qualified than most to give an opinion on Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather.
Bellator star Heather Hardy is undefeated in 21 professional boxing bouts and has claimed WBC titles since making her debut in 2012. Although she has one No Contest asterisk on her record for an accidental headbutt, she sort of stamped it out by scoring a TKO over Renata Domsodi in the rematch.
Hardy is also unbeaten in MMA, albeit, that chapter of her career has only just begun. She made her debut against Alice Yauger at Bellator 180, winning the bout via third round TKO.
While she is trying to transition from pugilism to mixed martial arts, she has some strong opinions on Conor McGregor, the man who’s attempting the opposite against Floyd Mayweather on August 26.
Here's how Heather Hardy got it done in her pro MMA debut at #Bellator180. 3rd TKO win over Alice Yauger. @HeatherHardyBox pic.twitter.com/NtgSdzamAp
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) June 25, 2017
While Hardy admitted that she will be watching the diamond-encrusted panty night during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, she doesn’t see the bout being very competitive. Her constant cackling every time the subject changed to McGregor’s chances was a dead giveaway.
“When you asked me about the fight that was the first time that I realsied people actually thought that he was going to win. (laughs) I’m sorry!”
She recognises McGregor as an incredible fighter, but she has seen “top, top” MMA fighters try their hand at boxing in the gym before and she hasn’t been overly impressed with how they’ve fared.
A very dangerous game https://t.co/9vUT90QVFA
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 28, 2017
Hardy singled out the lack of head movement as a particular weakness that is prevalent among MMA fighters trying to box. She recounted one anecdote involving two-weight world boxing champion Terence Crawford to back up the skill disparity.
“Terence Crawford has been to my gym sparring with the best guys Gleason’s has to offer and just lined them up and played with them. Not to say that he shouldn’t, but I’ve seen boxers do it where incredible fighters don’t measure up to exceptional fighters.”
No doubt over who she sees as the ‘exceptional fighter’ in the greatest sporting spectacle of 2017.
Hard to argue with his reasoning https://t.co/QMpKBJXQ4d
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 13, 2017
When asked to give her prediction on the fight, Hardy didn’t hesitate with her response of, ‘Money May all day”. Interestingly, she predicts that Mayweather will get the finish against the UFC superstar.
“I think he stops him in round four. Not because he’s so strong that he’s going to knock out this tough guy – everyone knows McGregor is so tough – but I think that his footwork, his distance, he’s going to frustrate the shit out of him and if they stop it, it will just be because of unanswered punches.”
We don’t have long left to find out how McGregor will look in his professional debut in the deep end. Fight night is edging closer.
