BoxRec

Heather Hardy is one of boxing's most popular female fighters. She has a dedicated fan base in her hometown of New York and is coming off her biggest win -- yet she has no idea when she might fight next.

Because of the new insurance law that recently went into effect in her home state, her promoter, Lou DiBella, canceled the remaining cards he was planning there this year on Friday.

In a nationally televised fight, Hardy won a majority decision over then-unbeaten rival Shelly Vincent at the Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island in Brooklyn. There has not been a professional boxing show in New York since that card Aug. 21, and there are none scheduled, putting a major dent into the careers of boxers who fight in New York and promoters who put on cards there.

Star Boxing promoter Joe DeGuardia already canceled his Oct. 14 card at the Paramount in Huntington on Long Island, where he has been doing regular club cards for years. On Friday, DiBella announced that he has canceled the remaining cards he was planning for the year, including a Dec. 16 date he had on hold for a show at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, a show Hardy was supposed to box on.

The law (the one legalizing MMA in the state) that went into effect in New York includes new insurance regulations, including dramatically increased premiums that promoters must pay in order to run a show. Minimum coverage went from $10,000 to $50,000 for general medical coverage per fighter on each card, a change most promoters had no issue with and conforms to the norm in many other states. But the law also requires a new unprecedented $1 million minimum requirement for each fighter in the event the fighter suffers a traumatic brain injury, a very rare occurrence.

Even if promoters could take on the added financial burden of the increased insurance premiums -- they are expected to only impact the smaller club shows -- there has yet to be any insurance company authorized by the state to offer such a policy and it does not appear that, despite the efforts of various promoters and the New York State Athletic Commission, a policy offer is imminent.

DiBella has moved his "Broadway Boxing" series, a staple of the New York fight scene, out of state. He has a card on Nov. 19 at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, and on Dec. 2 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, but that is of little solace to the fighters he promotes who call New York home and earn a portion of their purse by selling tickets to their hometown fans.

BitPlayer wrote:I guess they'll have to fight elsewhere.

BAD INTENTIONS wrote:Minimum coverage $50K.
Guaranteed $1M for brain damage.

I understand that the small guy, Lou Dibella , will suffer,
but these are progressive laws in my opinion.

This money isn't coming out of any of these guy's wallets.
It's just hiking up their insurance premiums.

Best Coast wrote:

BAD INTENTIONS wrote:Minimum coverage $50K.
Guaranteed $1M for brain damage.

I understand that the small guy, Lou Dibella , will suffer,
but these are progressive laws in my opinion.

This money isn't coming out of any of these guy's wallets.
It's just hiking up their insurance premiums.

Whether you blame the promoters, the insurance companies or the NY Legislature that passed this controversial law, bottom line is that it's already been over two months with no boxing in NY and next scheduled bout is March 2017, which is still 5 months away, so we could be looking at an unprecedented 7-MONTH BOXING DROUGHT in what was once the Mecca of Boxing!!