Former NFL star Greg Hardy suffered a brutal KO defeat on his bare-knuckle debut to Josh Watson last night.
Hardy previously fought in the UFC and is known for his powerful style, which many believed he would replicate in bare-knuckle boxing after announcing his debut with promotion BKFC. The American star came into his fight with Watson at BKFC's Knucklemania 3 event as the overwhelming favourite given his previous pedigree in the cage.
However, it was a tough night for Hardy who started immediately on the back foot in the fight and was immediately playing catch up. And it was Watson who landed the damaging blow in the second round sending the multi-sport veteran crashing to the canvas out cold for several seconds before Hardy was unable to return to his feet.
Despite returning to consciousness, the 34-year-old was unable to beat the count and referee Dan Miragliotta brought a halt to the fight. It was a tough night for Hardy who had shown his powerful traits during his previous career in MMA, having been signed for Dana White's UFC following his tenure in NFL.
He fought ten times in the cage during his stint winning on four occasions but was ultimately released by the promotion after suffering a final defeat against Sergey Spivak last year. Despite his form significantly declining in the UFC, Hardy was offered a lifeline in boxing where he picked up wins over Mike Cook and Hasim Rahman Jr.
However, his fortunes have now changed with Watson flying out of the ranks in the opening round of his BKFC debut last night. Hardy managed to re-establish control in the middle parts of the first period, using his jab to pick his way out of trouble but not for long with his rival finding all the all-important breakthrough.
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Watson dropped his opponent with a booming shot that sent Hardy crashing into the ropes threatening to blast him out in the opening round, but he somehow managed to beat a count of eight. It was the beginning of the end for Hardy however who was the victim of a thumping right hand, which closed the show.
Previously Hardy had made big claims regarding his career, issuing bold KO predictions for potential clashes with Fury and Joshua. After I get done shutting this down, handling my MMA business, I want to venture into the boxing realm,” said Hardy. “I’m trying to holler at [UFC president] Dana [White]. Hopefully, we can get some fights in the Zuffa Boxing world, Top Rank, Al Haymon.
"Somebody come holler at this dude because I definitely want to go over there and knock out ‘The Gypsy King’ [Tyson Fury], make light work of that English cat [Anthony] Joshua, or whatever it is, ‘Cry-baby Bomber’ [Deontay Wilder]. We’ll knock all those guys out, man."
