Rivalry Renewed: Heather Hardy returns to take on Shelly Vincent for the WBO Featherweight Title

While HBO will no longer be in the boxing business after this year, they are looking to go out with a bang. A key rivalry that has shaped women’s boxing to what it is today has been added to the October 27th card featuring Daniel Jacobs v. Sergiy Derevyanchenko. Heather Hardy will go one-on-one against Shelly Vincent.

The event will be held in the Hulu Theater inside Madison Square Garden. Both will be fighting for the vacant WBO Women’s Featherweight World Championship. Hardy, in a press release, had the following to say about the fight announcement:

“I’m so excited and so honored to be fighting on HBO,” Hardy said. “Shelly and I have wanted a rematch since the first fight ended and it’s fitting that it’s on this huge card and will be telecast on HBO from Madison Square Garden. The first fight was one of the very best of 2016 and the rematch will start right where we finished off.”

These two are considered true rivals in the world of boxing. Their last fight was a slugfest for Premier Boxing Champions in 2016. Hardy (21-0) beat Vincent (23-1) via majority decision after ten rounds. Now, with more experience under their belts, they will look to prove that the sequel can be better than the original.

Not only will this be on the main card of the show, it will be aired live for boxing fans around the world to see. Besides this bout, HBO’s other women’s fight was in May. That was a welterweight bout featuring Cecilia Brækhus agianst Kali Reis, with the former coming out on top. Perhaps women’s boxing would have been a favorable change to HBO’s boxing plans at some point.

While Hardy has dabbled in MMA since their last encounter, boxing is still her first love. She will continue to fight for more opportunities for women, while also winning her fourth fight in a row. Vincent will look to even the score while winning her sixth in a row.