By Francisco Salazar
When it comes to sports, Guyana is known more for soccer and cricket.
While that may seem okay, one fighter from the South American country believes he can put Guyana on the boxing map.
That may seem like a daunting task, but Simeon Hardy believes he can not only do that, but that he could reach his goal of becoming a world champion.
Hardy will fight Vardan “Vito” Gasparyan in a quarterfinal bout of the 2015 Boxcino junior middleweight tournament tonight at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The six round bout, along with three other quarterfinal bouts, will be broadcast live on ESPN2, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT.
Banner Promotions and CES Boxing will co-promote the card.
Hardy has fought in relative obscurity since turning pro in October of 2010. He defeated former world title holder Howard Eastman twice in 2012 and was training at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Oxnard, California.
Hardy (13-0, 10 KOs) had family living in the New York City area, so he decided to live and train in the area beginning early last year. The 27-year-old won three fights in 2014 and became part of the Banner Promotions stable.
When the opportunity came for him to be part of this year’s Boxcino tournament, Hardy did not hesitate to join.
“I told my manager to go ahead and enter me,” Hardy told krikya360.com in an interview earlier this week. “I like competition and I want to see how I would fair. This (Boxcino tournament) is an opportunity of a lifetime and you sometimes only get an opportunity only once.”
The Boxcino tournament could indeed be that opportunity for fighters. The winner of the tournament wins the Boxcino title, wins the vacant NABA and NABO titles and receives a top-10 ranking by the WBA and WBO.
Hardy will face Vardan Gasparyan, an Armenian-born fighter who is based in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale.
Hardy believes they are mirror images of one another, but he can make adjustments to overcome anything Gasparyan brings to the fight.
“I’ve only seen one video of him on YouTube and that was the (Jermell) Charlo fight. He’s a pressure fighter and he knows how to handle himself. I’m a tough out for him than he is for me. I’m a boxer-puncher and I can give him problems. If he tries to bully me, then I will knock him out.”
While Hardy does have explosive power in each hand, he believes his development under trainer Colin Morgan has come along well.
“We’ve been working on the technical stuff. I’ve worked on how to relax more. The results lately have been good.”
While the results are good, they’re better compared to the difficult upbringing he endured in Guyana. Whereas money was hard to come by, Hardy had to persevere, even if it was a cost of leaving his homeland and representing Guyana in the Olympic Games.
“Growing up in Guyana, I had the best days of my life and disappointing days of my life. I was hoping to something with my life. I had to not only be physically strong, but mentally strong and not listen to people who tried to deter my career.”
“I’ve had to struggle. I want to be a voice for the people, especially for the Guyanese people. I want to show them to keep working and to work their way to the top.”
With that, Hardy seems to be carrying not only his weight, but the weight of the people in Guyana on his shoulders. Hardy’s passion for the sport translates to him wanting to be the best.
Whether he gets eliminated in the quarterfinals or wins the Boxcino tournament, Hardy carries a life-lesson with him into every bout.
“When you stumble, you get back up. I believe in myself. I’ve been successful, but not even close to where I want to be.”
“Winning the Boxcino tournament will be part of the dream of making it big in boxing.”
Francisco A. Salazar has written for krikya360.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Salazar also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing