Greg Leon: How is everything going in preparation for the biggest fight of your career, a WBO featherweight title defense against Amanda Serrano on September 13th? Heather Hardy: "Everything has been great so far. We're a month away right now and the fight presented itself kind of out of nowhere and I just kind of rolled with it." Greg Leon: Whenever I brought this fight up in the past you would always say that there would have to be a lot of money in it. Did they make it worth it? Are you happy with the purse? Heather Hardy: "I am, but at the end of the day when somebody calls you out it's hard to say no when she's also from Brooklyn. If somebody says I want Heather Hardy's belt, I want her to fight me or vacate."

 

GL: Has this gotten personal at all or is this just a competitive rivalry?

 

Heather Hardy: "No, this is not personal at all. It's business and this is a competitive rivalry. She wanted my belt and Amanda has won seven world titles so she's earned the right to tell someone she wants their belt. She said she wants the belt and I got to vacate or fight and I'm not just going to vacate, I mean my pride is too big for that."

 

GL: What would a victory over Amanda mean to you?

 

HH: "It would mean everything to me. The winner of this fight gets Katie Taylor and the fight with Taylor would help me pay her college tuition. She's only a couple of years away from college and I'm the one who's responsible for her. This is my career and this is why I do this, I fight for pride and competitiveness, but I'm also fighting to make ends meet and put food on the table. Winning this fight for me is not an option."

 

GL: In your opinion should this fight be the main event?

 

HH: "I think so, I really do and that's not to take anything away from Devin Haney because he's an incredibly talented fighter and he's on the come up, but to be honest, nobody knows his opponent right. Am I lying? (she's not). Co-main event is tremendous, but in my opinion our fight should definitely be the main event."

 

GL: What weaknesses do you see in Amanda that you feel you'll be able to exploit on fight night?

 

HH: "She's a seven time world champion and there's not much to talk shit about with her, you're going to have to watch on September 13th to find out. I wouldn't say she has a weakness, do I think I can beat her? Hell yeah otherwise I wouldn't be taking this fight, but I wouldn't say that she has a weakness."

 

GL: What do you consider your biggest advantage going into the fight?

 

HH: "That I'm familiar with her power. We should spar and yeah I know it's with the fourteen ounce gloves on and a headgear, but I've sparred with Alicia Napoleon, I've been in there with some heavy hitters, but nobody as small as Amanda with anywhere near the same kind of power. When I tell you that this girl hits like a guy I'm not even playing, it's no an exaggeration."

 

GL: Now the fight is made and the money is improving does that put the pressure on both you and Amanda to make sure that it's a highly entertaining fight?

 

HH: "There's a fine line between an entertaining fight and a dangerous fight. We just saw two men lose their lives in entertaining fights, you got to go in there and be smart. Amanda is one of the most dangerous punchers in women's boxing, if not the most dangerous puncher in women's boxing. I'm going to make it entertaining for the fans, but I'm going to make sure I'm safe first."

 

GL: Closing thoughts for the fans.

 

HH: "You don't want to miss this one. I don't think there's any real fan of women's boxing that isn't excited for us. Girls from all different weight classes and all over the world are excited about this fight, I can't wait."