Show me an evenly matched woman’s boxing fight on a live card, and I will show you a match of the night candidate. The reason why is very simple. We have to give the fans an action-packed show. If we don’t, we won’t be invited back.
The greatest fights in women’s boxing history are fights that you’ve never seen. In fact, unless you were in attendance, you’ll never see them. It’s been a long while since you’ve seen a woman box on a live televised card. And because of that, people literally do not know what they are missing.
All across America, there are female fights, a lot of them, trying to prove to promoters they can draw a crowd. A promoter doesn’t start to see any real money from a fighter until they make it to television. Unless a prospect has a chance to make it to television, they’re not a good long-term investment.
I’m not here to cry hardship. All boxers have it tough. Today, I’m living a dream I didn’t even know I had until I became a professional boxer at age 30. By then, I was already a mom, divorced, and with my original dream of become a forensic psychologist a distant memory. Now, just a few years later, I’m the WBC International Champion.
I was able to get this far because I was able to show my promoter, Lou DiBella, that I could be a good short-term investment. When I started out, barely making $1,000 a fight, I went out and sold ten times that amount in tickets to family, friends, and anyone who would support me.
That got me to slightly bigger venues, where I sold more tickets. From there, I became the first female boxer ever to fight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. For my second fight at the Barclays, I sold over $30,000 in tickets on my own. But because I was the first fight of the night, I didn’t get the exposure of fighting before the main events.
For a female boxer, it’s an age-old problem. We can’t get on television without an audience. But we also can’t gain a national audience without fighting on television. Until we are able to be seen on a big stage, the economics of the fight game will never change for us. It will be that much harder to get a national sponsorship, that much more difficult to get a brand to sponsor my robe and trunks, and I can’t even tell you how much it would impact an actual fighter’s pay.
I believe the sponsors are there, waiting for the right opportunity. No one ever thought women’s MMA would be a moneymaker until fighters like Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey came along. They have paved the way for a generation of fighters behind them.
Women’s boxing had a moment over 25 years ago when Christy Martin began fighting on Mike Tyson’s pay per view undercards. Christy brought the action-packed style that fans wanted to see. She made it all the way to the cover of Sports Illustrated. She said something that has always stuck with me. “As soon as one ticket is sold to an event, it’s not a sport anymore. It’s a business.” And that’s why I now know, it’s not good enough for a female boxer to be great. She has to stand out from the crowd and make people take notice beyond the ring. She has to be a good investment for promoters, sponsors and fans who pay their hard earned money.
You’ll hear a lot of stories from a lot of people why women aren’t allowed to fight on live television. Some say that the fighter with the right story hasn’t come along. Others say the paying public isn’t ready to watch women fight.
But I know we’re close. As in every other moment of change, it will take one person in power to take a chance on someone. It will take one person who has a vision and can see what the future will be. And maybe someday when that happens, someday soon I hope, the women you see on boxing telecasts won’t be bikini-clad models holding up ring cards or concerned wives watching their husbands. You’ll be able to see two talented well-trained athletes fight like girls. And it will be the match of the night. Get your popcorn ready.
On August 1, Heather Hardy will square off against Renata Domsodi at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. For tickets, visit heathertheheathardy.net.
