Former NFL Defensive End Greg Hardy Beats Hasim Rahman Jr. With Big Knockdown In Professional Boxing Match Without Training

Former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy is 1-0 as a professional boxer. The 34-year-old took the ring on Saturday night and beat Hasim Rahman Jr. by unanimous decision.

Hardy, a first-team All-SEC player at Ole Miss in 2007, was a sixth-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He spent five years with the Panthers, reaching a Pro Bowl in 2013, and one year with the Cowboys before his career came to an end.

After retiring from the NFL, Hardy joined the UFC in 2019 but won just four of his 10 fights before the organization chose not to re-sign him in 2022. With that chapter closed, he turned his attention to boxing and took the ring for his second professional fight on Saturday on one week's notice.

Hardy fought Rahman Jr., who is the son of former heavyweight champion Hasim 'The Rock' Rahman, in a four-round heavyweight matchup in Austin, Texas. It was part of the Misfits x DAZN Series 3 at the Moody Center.

When the two stepped into the ring, Hardy had a nearly 100-pound weight advantage. The former defensive end weighed-in at 320 pounds, while his opponent topped the scales at 226.

Once the match got underway, it was a war.

Both boxers traded punches in the first round and it seemed as though Rahman Jr.'s technical training would prove to be too much for Hardy.

However, Hardy's size and relentless tenacity proved to be too much for Rahman Jr. and he was put on the mat in the second round. To Rahman's credit, he did get back up and landed a nice left hand back.

Here is how the knockdown looked from outside the ring:

The second round was by far the most action-packed of the evening. Rahman Jr. landed a few nice combinations in the final frames as the tempo slowed, but couldn't do enough.

Hardy won by unanimous decision as the judges turned in identical scores of 39-36.

After the fight, Hardy talked a lot of talk and emphasized that his win over Rahman Jr. came on extremely short notice.

"No camp, no f—ks given, I’m ready for anybody," he said. "Give me some notice, let me lose some weight. Imma hurt everybody. This is my division now."

Hardy is now 2-0 in his boxing career.