New York based boxing talents were on hand at the Barclays Center this week for a special media opportunity to officially announce their respective bouts for the December 5th fight card.
Previous world champion Yuri Foreman will return to the ring for the first time in three years, Heather Hardy and Olympian Marcus Browne will all come face to face with their opponent who will be announced. The main bout will take place between Daniel Jacob vs. Peter Quillin – both Brooklynites, who will square off for the WBA Middleweight Title in a 12-round bout.
Browne a Staten Island native with strong roots and ties to Brooklyn is excited to come back to the Barclays to face his opponent, Francisco Sierra.
“This will be my 10th fight here at the Barclays, it’s an amazing thing and it’s been a blessing for me and my career since the arena has been built. Personally, I’m taking it all in stride and appreciating the experience because you never know when it’s going to be your last,” said Browne, a light heavyweight with a perfect 16-0 record including 12 knockouts.
Browne considers himself an honorary Brooklynite spending much of his childhood years in the borough as he fondly remembers attending middle school. “Brooklyn has treated me great. I graduated from MS 61 and my grandmother used to own a store along Nostrand Avenue. There’s no place like it, at all in the world,” he said.
Heather Hardy, undefeated super bantamweight and Brooklyn native from Gerritsen Beach is excited to be featured on the undercard in her own borough. She had to overcome many obstacles as a female boxer in a male dominated sport.
“There are still a lot of obstacles for female boxers in the industry,” Hardy said. “Unfortunately, boxers don’t make money in general until they land a television deal and networks seem to have an ‘anti-female’ fighting policy against boxers so women like myself have really nothing to aspire to.”
Hardy points out that female fighters not only lack the exposure and money of their male counterparts, but also how they are generally treated in the industry.
“We’re often times felt like we should be thankful to be on the cards as it is because promoters tend to make no money off of us because that door for network television is closed. It’s really been my fight not only inside the ring to win my fights, but to get a little more recognition and bring that pay gap up,” she said.
Hardy did say she’s hopeful she’ll be around in the boxing world within the next decade to share her many experiences and offer sound advice. “I don’t know if I’ll be fighting in 10 years. My stable mate just won a world title and became the oldest boxer to win a title at 49 years old. I’d like to say I’ll be banging around the ring but you never know.”
Unfortunately other female boxers who will follow in Hardy’s footsteps will have to deal with the same challenges. “There are a lot of stereotypes and biases, so we have to go above and beyond. You have to sell more tickets, you have to fight better than the guys, you have to work and earn your way onto the stage because just being a good boxer isn’t good enough. You have to do all the extra things too.”
Tickets for the boxing card start at $50, not including applicable fees, and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.ticketmaster.com,
