Nikki Hru discusses Alexia Grace, Astrid Wett, and more ahead of her Misfits boxing debut this Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee.
Known for its outlandish fights and at times even more outlandish personalities, the Misfits Boxing promotion since its inception has never been short on eccentricities. With their circus style main events (mystery opponents, 2 vs 1) and wild hijinks, having an influencer who leans into the opposite is almost show stopping in itself.
Enter Nikki Hru (pronounced “roo” like kangaroo), the singer and actress from Florida who is one of the latest personalities to benefit from the new in-ring opportunities to be found in 2024. With the world of celebrity boxing (today more commonly called influencer boxing) being so new, crowning champions and ranking the athletes is still in it’s burgeoning stages as more talent is discovered. It is here where “Kanga” stands out, having a background in martial arts and and showcasing impressive skill in her pair of fights that awarded her both a regional influencer boxing title and the more prestigious Influencer Championship Boxing super bantamweight title which recognizes worldwide talent. The women of the KSI owned promotion may be recognized as being potentially at a higher level because of the power of the brand, but none of them enter the ring having already won as much hardware as Hru.
In throwing her into the field with Misfits boxing, Hru stands out almost because she is not trying to. At least, not in the same way. While her contemporaries boast impressive followings across various social media platforms and frequently lean into the risqué as part their online personas, the cosplayer and actress is more than happy to focus on letting her skills do the talking rather than initiate another online confrontation. It is what makes the title hopeful who she is, an athlete who found her passion for performing at a young age and is now testing herself on a stage that she hopes allows her to inspire others to do the same.
“I have simultaneously had a very a privileged life while also having had an incredibly difficult life. I like to recognize both sides of that because there are a lot of privileges and there are people who have gone through things that I’ll never understand. But the adversity I faced throughout my life is substantial and one of the biggest things that I want to impress upon people, and this is everyone, regardless of the adversity and regardless of how the adversity came to be, your ability to push through and your ability to keep taking that next step. Just do the next right thing and just trying your best and not giving up. You can rest but not giving up. Every success in my life is because of that mentality and because of this unwavering faith that no matter what happens to me or around me I will be able to navigate and overcome. I just want everyone to have that same faith in themselves. Because no one else can really have it for you…If I can start inspiring people to really tap into the part of themselves that is just unwavering faith in their ability. That’s all I really want.”
Hru, 27, was in discussions to fight the previous Misfits women’s lightweight title holder Astrid Wett this year prior to Wett departing the company due to differences with the promotion. With the title now vacant, Hru will be facing influencer and adult content creator Alexia Grace to crown a new champion. While Wett carried a level of recognition as the inaugural Misfits women’s champion, Hru says the fact that she has not been acknowledged by the former title holder is proof enough that she does not need to face her to legitimize the influencer championship victory.
“I would love to fight Astrid, honestly at this point just because I’m mad. I’m not usually a person who’s like a personal beef kind of person, but I felt really disrespected and really slighted by how she handled a lot of it. I felt very snubbed in a way when she was saying why she was leaving. Being her mandatory, it’s not like I was a random person, she knew who I was. She could have said ‘I’ll fight Nikki on a different platform.’ and the fact that she didn’t I’m just like ‘I see you.’ That said, I think I would feel a lot more pressure to fight her in order to legitimize it if I thought she was actually any good. Since I don’t, I’m like ‘I would have beaten you anyway.’ If Astrid ever wants to come back and be like ‘I want my belt back’ she is welcome to step into the ring with me”
Hru’s new opponent Alexia Grace carries her own level of recognition, boasting over a million followers on Tik Tok and over a quarter of a million followers on Instagram. Grace made her boxing debut last October on the widely promoted Misfits Prime card against Wett where she tested the champion despite having notably less experience. Grace and Hru have exchanged plenty of words on social media in the lead up to the fight. But while Grace has not posted much of her preparation, Hru says she is not making the mistake of thinking her foe has not been training and is planning to use her explosiveness for her size to great effect.
“I have had that thought [that she is not training for a fight.] Granted, I don’t post every time I’m in the gym either…Her and I are in a division where I know she’s not getting hit and I know her coaches are telling her ‘Oh, 112 lbs it’s not going to be that hard. Oh no no no. It’s going to be hard. And I’m gonna hurt her. And she’ll live, she’ll be fine. But I’m going to hurt her, because I want my belt. She’s not ready for the power I have. I’m just going to keep coming even if she does throw her little jabber jabs at me. That’s all she’s got.”
👀 @itsalexiagrace goes for a kiss during her face off with @NikkiHru 💋#MFBOutnumbered | March 23, Nashville | @MF_DAZNXSeries | @PrimeHydrate | @KickStreaming pic.twitter.com/oLMiGAiJdt
— Misfits Boxing (@MisfitsBoxing) March 22, 2024
When discussing the women at the top of influencer boxing, the conversation eventually turns to new middleweight champion Elle Brooke who is friends and trained with Alexia Grace for this fight. Also in the conversation, former middleweight champion and Love Island alum AJ Bunker who had also previously challenged Wett for the lightweight title and who has been a presence during fight week taunting Hru and Grace. Should Hru win the title this Saturday, a fight with either woman in the future is expected to do big business for the brand.
“They would have to come down to my weight. I’ve said this before, I would need a nutritionist and I would need to talk to my coach about how to healthily go up because I haven’t been 125 since I was power lifting. In my adult life I have never been 125 or higher. It’s just not a thing. I’m not saying that like ‘I’m so small’ It’s not like that. I would just legitimately need professional assistance in going up to that weight class because I don’t know how to do it healthily. But if they want to come down to 112, all day every day. I’m here for them at 112.”
Of course, those talks about the future don’t begin until after Saturday where Hru will be looking to maximize her time on the Misfits stage by delivering a dominant performance in her promotional debut.
Nikki Hru fights Alexia Grace for the Misfits Boxing women’s lightweight title on Saturday March 23.
