Dan Hardy’s comeback has hit another snag and this time it might be a permanent one.
The one-time UFC welterweight title challenger was scheduled to box fellow former UFC standout Diego Sanchez in an exhibition bout this Saturday at AO Arena in Manchester, England, but Hardy told Submission Radio that the bout is off.
According to Hardy the British channel Sky Sports will now be airing the event, which features an exhibition fight between Ricky Hatton & Marco Antonio Barrera. It made some changes to the line-up that include scrapping the undercard bouts and replacing them with fighters who are currently contracted to an associated stable.
“Yes, basically Sky Sports picked up the card. They decided to remove the Hatton/Barrera bouts from the card and add their fights,” Hardy stated (transcription by Denis Shkuratov). “‘Cause obviously they got a deal with Boxer and they’ve got loads of fighters signed to their management team. So yeah, they basically just took the Hatton/Barrera fight and they cancelled the rest of the fights.
“I’ve had a bit of a chat with Diego about it. He was also disappointed, but it is the fight game. The situation is chaotic right now, with many new promoters entering the business, which I believe sometimes leads to them swallowing more than they can chew. I hope it goes really well. But aside from following Ricky Hatton’s Instagram, I’m not really hearing anything about it.”
Hardy and Sanchez, both 40, were originally scheduled to fight July 2 before the bout was pushed back to Nov. 12. This was to be Hardy’s first fight since Sept. 29, 2012, when he defeated Amir Sadollah at a UFC event in Nottingham, England. Soon after, Hardy was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a condition that he has battled ever since while working towards a return to competition.
The former UFC analyst intends to continue in MMA despite the setback but is unsure if a return is possible.
” My mum told me it felt like the universe was trying to tell you something,” Hardy stated. “Maybe it is. Perhaps I am just holding on to something. To be fair, I feel great. I am still in good health. My mind is sharp and I have a few options for the next year. Yes, I have a few options and names of people in my mind.
” But to be completely honest, I am just going with the flow at this moment. I’m so busy with the YouTube channel, with the new project that’s coming up in the new year. That’s gonna be incredible. That might give me an opportunity to compete again as well in mixed martial arts. Things are getting easier for me. These last six months have been full of curve balls. It’s been a bit of stressful ride. But I’m sitting here today in front of you with a smile on my face, and I’m feeling very positive about the new year. Very positive.
Watch Hardy in his full interview on Submission Radio click :
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/11/9/23449112/dan-hardy-vs-diego-sanchez-boxing-bout-cancelled-hardy-unsure-about-future-comeback-attempts?rand=96749
