(MAR 23) On Friday night at the Aviator Sports Complex, Brooklyn, New York, and presented by DiBella Entertainment, Heather "The Heat" Hardy, 121, of Brooklyn, NY, did indeed "Turn up the Heat" when she fought and won an eight-round bout by a unanimous decision over Nydia Feliciano, 119. The final judges scores were 79-73, 78-74, and 78-74.  Hardy remains undefeated with a 9-0-0 (2KO), and Feliciano, 7-5-3.

In the very beginning, just for a moment, I wondered after seeing Hardy and Feliciano go to battle....Is Nydia gonna be the one to serve Heather her first loss?  The crowd began to chant "Hardy, Hardy." .....Then all of a sudden, Hardy dug down deep and like having a super burst of energy, she began to move quickly with fast combinations, and she definitely turned up the heat.

Hardy and Feliciano both displayed how they were very tough in the ring, and the fight was an action-packed toe-to-toe contest, and was one of the best fights of the night.

Photo credit:  Rebecca Weiss Stricker

After the fight, WBAN spoke with Hardy who said, "I went into the fight with the utmost respect for Nydia. I used to watch her sparring at Gleasons, and looked up to her as a pro when I was just coming up as an amateur. Her coach is a personal friend and one of the best female boxing coaches around, so we knew this was going to be tough, knew this was going to be tough, but my team was up for the challenge. We stepped up our game and our hard work paid off. It was a tremendous win for my team, because I know damn well I couldn't have done it without their dedication and support. They believed in me."

The [Cindy and Amanda] Serrano team told WBAN, "We bought the fight on gofightlive and watched it. We were so surprised on how Heather has improved. It was a totally different Heather in there this night, who in most fights is always right in front of her opponent going toe to toe. Great fight for women's boxing. The fight was very action-packed, and even we as fighters were at the edge of our seats! Hats off to Nydia for taking this fight, and Heather is the future of the sport---reminds us as a female Arturo Gatti."

Heather's stable mates Shawn Cameron and Delen "Sniper" Parsley who are also boxers in the sport. They said the following on a video:
  

Broadway Boxing wrote the following about the bout: 

"Fighting before a strong contingent of hometown fans, Brooklyn fan favorite Heather Hardy and the Bronx's Nydia Feliciano went to war in their eight-round female junior featherweight feature bout. Feliciano was easily the toughest opponent of Hardy's young career, having already fought for a world title in 2012. Round after round, Hardy and Feliciano furiously brawled, bringing the crowd to a standing ovation on a number of occasions. Hardy was the aggressor and pressed the action for the majority of the bout, and in the end, she was awarded the well-deserved unanimous decision, winning by scores of 79-73, and 78-74 twice. It was the most impressive victory to date for Hardy, who improved to a perfect 9-0, 2KO's."

On a side note....It was a special night for Heather Hardy---it was her father's birthday this night and Hardy dedicated this fight as a gift for her dad's birthday.

Lastly, "I would like to give my condolences to Lou Dibella, on his loss of his 90-year-old father. The fans missed him at the fights last night.

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