Tonya Harding boxing – How the famed skater turned to combat sports
Last month I, Tonya opened up in select theaters throughout the United States. This Friday, the biographical sports comedy film about the life of former figure skater Tonya Harding, will hit theaters in Canada.
The film follows the life and career of Harding, with particular focus on the 1994 attack on Nancy Kerrigan, Harding’s rival and Olympic teammate. Margot Robbie (who also produced) stars as Harding and Sebastian Stan plays as Harding’s husband, Jeff Gillooly; Julianne Nicholson, Caitlin Carver, Bobby Cannavale and Allison Janney also star.
Watch the I, Tonya trailer below:
What people often forget about Harding is that aside from her professional skating career, she also had a professional boxing career.
In 2002 she boxed against Paula Jones on the Fox TV network Celebrity Boxing event, winning the fight. On February 22, 2003, Harding made her official women’s professional boxing debut, losing a four-round decision in the undercard of the Mike Tyson-Clifford Etienne bout, amid rumors that she was having financial difficulties and needed to fight in the ring to earn money.
Harding did another celebrity boxing match, on The Man Show, and won against co-host Doug Stanhope. Stanhope later claimed on his podcast that the fight was fixed because Tonya Harding refused to “fight a man”.
On March 23, 2004, it was reported that she canceled a planned boxing match against Tracy Carlton in Oakland, California, because of an alleged death threat against her.
On June 24, 2004, after reportedly not having boxed for over a year, she was beaten in a match in Edmonton, Alberta, by Amy Johnson. Fans reportedly booed her as she entered the ring and cheered wildly for Johnson as she won in the third round.
Harding’s boxing career was quite short, a brevity she attributed to asthma. Her overall record was 3–3–0. Below is Harding’s official boxing record according to Wikipedia.
Watch Tonya Harding boxing below:
