'The business of boxing is systematically built against females' Heather Hardy
Former boxing world champion Heather Hardy – gives us an insight into the realities of making a living from boxing ahead of a huge night at Wembley Arena, which sees two women’s world title fights on the same bill. Hardy believes the sport still has much to do in terms of the gender pay gap and that the time has come for women to stop thanking men for opportunities to showcase their skills. Hardy says women need to co-headline big shows and admits her own career may be over. She lost her world title in her last fight and says she’ll never fight again for “a pay check that doesn’t make sense”. However, despite her own struggles in the sport, Hardy does believe boxing is a viable career choice for young girls and women that are coming through now. We also hear from promoter Eddie Hearn, who addresses Hardy’s concerns about pay and promotion for female fighters and the BBC’s boxing correspondent, Mike Costello, gives us his views on the pay gap and looks ahead to the night's action. Gia Peebles and Lesleigh Mausi from the Ebony Anglers join us to talk about friendship, fishing and what it’s like being part of an all-Black, all-female competitive angling team. The team was set up earlier this year and they’ve already won a major tournament. Peebles and Mausi talk us through their big haul and explain how they’re hoping to inspire young girls and boys to take up the sport. We hear how long-covid has affected former world number three tennis player Grigor Dimitrov. He’s been speaking to the BBC’s Laura Scott after he contracted coronavirus back in June. Sporting Witness charts the remarkable career of the Argentina blind football captain Silvio Velo - who's still finding the net in his late forties and is credited with raising the profile of his sport in South America. And the BBC’s golf correspondent, Iain Carter, joins us with all the latest news ahead of the third round of the The Masters at Augusta National. (Photo: Heather Hardy celebrates after winning her featherweight bout against Paola Torres in 2018. Credit: Getty Images)