She was readying herself to greet a visitor from Africa with a rude welcome, knowing the traveler definitely sought to do her harm.

Heather Hardy and trainer Devon Cormack had been at the famed and fabled Gleason’s Gym working with the knowledge that Helen Joseph can crank more than a bit, so being on point defensively would be paramount on Saturday night at the hipster-in-a-good-way-fight-Mecca Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Manhattans’ cooler cousin.

Mobility and head movement, smart boxing, staying focused, that would be the recipe to go to 19-0 on the Danny Garcia-Keith Thurman card, portions of which will run on CBS, on a “Showtime on CBS”/Premier Boxing Champions production.

Then the business end of boxing intruded. It will do that, like a Tommy Hearns cobra strike right, after a blinder jab makes you blink…

We got a new foe for ya, Hardy, the Brooklyn single mom was told. The word came to her on Saturday that Joseph couldn’t get her visa stamped, so a replacement would be sought. Hang tight, she was told.

Hang tight, hang tough, hang in, hang on, Hardy knows of this. She did as she was told.

They found someone. The marvelously-named Edina Kiss. And what about it, Hardy, thoughts on the switch?

“I don’t even care. I just need to fight and beat someone up,” the 35-year-old told me, chuckling.

Kiss has a 13-2 (with 8 knockouts) record. She’s born in Hungary and BoxRec shows has fought two of her professional bouts against two other fighters also with the last name Kiss (perhaps a common Hungarian surname?). That is a record; I’m sure. Kiss is known to the DiBella Entertainment crew, who promote Hardy and Amanda Serrano. Serrano downed Kiss last April via TKO.

Hardy (18-0 with 4 KOs) reports she’s feeling fine close to fight time. “Yep, few pounds off, will come down to just drying out the last day. Possible that my WBC International featherweight title title will be on the line,” she said.

“The opponent change doesn’t matter! Coming off an MMA fight camp, it’s actually a pleasure when all I have to worry about is two hands!”

(Hardy was set to make her MMA debut on Jan. 14 but her opponent pulled out fight week with a concussion, so that will come another day.)

Something to think about: The regional differences with which different boxers deal. Training for a March 4 tango has meant Hardy is getting it done in midwinter. Has that bothered her? Like, a Miami camp would be a nice change, huh? “Maybe, one day, I’ll make enough money to do a six-week camp in Miami on the beach…Until then we are grinding it out in BK, running in the snow and rain and gritty traffic!”

Well, I told her, you know what has been said. “That which doesn’t kill us in traffic…”

“Makes us want to kill others!” Hardy finished and then cackled.

NOTE: The travel industry and conditions for some foreign visitors especially has shifted in the last month, you might have heard. One would wonder if new federal regulations affected the Joseph visa deal. I asked promoter Lou DiBella that question. “Can’t say for sure,” he told RingTV.

What Michael Woods meant to say was, “That which doesn’t kill us in traffic makes us retreat to the coffee shop from whence we came, at least until the coast is clear!” But Ms. Hardy’s suffix was most definitely more badass.

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