Michael Hunter (American boxer)

Last updated
Michael Hunter
Born
Michael Hunter, Jr.

(1988-07-10) July 10, 1988 (age 36)
Van Nuys, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesThe Bounty Hunter
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Reach79+1⁄2 in (202 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights26
Wins23
Wins by KO16
Losses1
Draws2
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
U.S. National Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2012 Fort CarsonHeavyweight
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Agadir Heavyweight
Representing Flag of California.svg  California
Golden Gloves
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2006 Omaha Super heavyweight
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2011 Indianapolis Heavyweight

Michael Hunter, Jr. (born July 10, 1988) is an American professional boxer who challenged for the WBO junior heavyweight title in 2017. As an amateur, he won the National Championships as a super heavyweight in 2007 and 2009, and qualified for the 2012 Olympics in the heavyweight division. [1] He is the son of late professional boxer Mike "the Bounty" Hunter. [2]

Contents

Amateur career

In 2006 at the age of 18 he made it to the finals of the National Golden Gloves with only five bouts where he lost to Felix Stewart and won the bronze medal at the Under-19 World Championships in Morocco by scoring wins over Andrey Volkov of Russia and Pavel Kulda of Lithuania before losing in the semifinals to eventual winner Cristian Ciocan of Romania.

In 2007 now based in Las Vegas he beat future (2008) champ Lenroy Thompson and narrowly outpointed two-time winner Mike Wilson to win the US championships.

At the Olympic trials 2007 he easily beat Wilson-conqueror Kimdo Bethel twice and won the tournament. At the World Championships 2007 he beat Kurban Günebakan 30:7 and Jasem Delavari and lost only 15:22 to world #1 and European champion Islam Timurziev.

At the first qualifier he beat Oscar Rivas but lost to Cuban Robert Alfonso 1:9, at the second he beat Didier Bence but lost to Jose Payares and thus failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

In 2009 he edged out Thompson 8:7 and once again became national champ.

Heavyweight, 201 lbs

In 2011 he dropped down to 201 lbs and won the Golden Gloves title there. [3]

In June 2011, Hunter helped Wladimir Klitschko in his preparation for his fight against David Haye, acting as his sparring partner in the last few weeks building up to the fight.

He managed to qualify for the London Olympics by winning his qualifier against Julio Castillo and Yamil Peralta. [4] At the Olympics, he was eliminated in the first round by future professional world champion Artur Beterbiyev who was at his second Olympics. [5]

Professional career

In March 2013 Hunter made his professional debut defeating Chad Davis by third-round TKO in a bout held in Phoenix, Arizona. He then scored another KO on August 30.

On April 8, 2017, Hunter fought his first career title fight, against Oleksandr Usyk for the WBO cruiserweight title. Hunter boxed well in the beginning, but couldn't manage to land effectively on Usyk. Usyk, on the other hand, managed to hurt Hunter multiple times, almost knocking him out towards the end of the fight. Despite a courageous effort from Hunter, Usyk was declared the winner via unanimous decision. [6]

On October 13, 2018, Hunter fought Martin Bakole, his biggest test at heavyweight up to that point. Bakole was visibly the bigger man of the two, but Hunter managed to outbox and hurt him during the fight, eventually stopping it in the final seconds of the tenth, and last, round. [7]

In his next fight, Hunter fought veteran heavyweight Alexander Ustinov. Hunter wore Ustinov down by scoring two knockdowns, one in the eighth round and one in the ninth round, after which Ustinov's corner threw in the towel. [8]

On September 13, 2019, Hunter, ranked #9 by the WBA, #10 by the IBF, #12 by the WBO and #14 by the WBC at heavyweight, fought Sergey Kuzmin, ranked #5 by the WBA and #7 by the IBF. Hunter got his sixth win in a row in convincing fashion, scoring 117-110 and all three judges' scorecards. [9]

On December 7, 2019, on the undercard of Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua II, Hunter faced former WBA (Regular) heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin. Povetkin was ranked #6 by the WBA and WBC and #10 by the IBF at heavyweight, while Hunter was ranked #7 by the WBA and IBF, #8 by the WBO and #14 by the WBA. [10] Both fighters fought well and were aggressive at given points of the fight, making for a very entertaining bout. The fight would end up being a draw, one judge scoring the fight 115-113 in favor of Povetkin, one scoring it 115-113 for Hunter, while the third judge had it even, 114-114. [11]

Professional boxing record

26 fights23 wins1 loss
By knockout160
By decision71
Draws2
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
26Win23–1–2 Cassius Chaney UD10Jun 7, 2024Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.Won vacant WBA Gold heavyweight title
25Win22–1–2Ignacio EsparzaTKO5 (10), 0:10Mar 23, 2024 Zapopan, Mexico
24Win21–1–2Miguel CubosTKO2 (10), 0:42Sep 30, 2023 Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Mexico
23Draw20–1–2Jerry ForrestSD10Dec 2, 2021 Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, U.S.
22Win20–1–1 Mike Wilson TKO4 (12), 2:49Aug 3, 2021Hulu Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.Won vacant WBA Continental Americas heavyweight title
21Win19–1–1Shawn LaugheryKO4 (10), 1:02Dec 18, 2020Island Convention Center, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
20Draw18–1–1 Alexander Povetkin SD12 Dec 7, 2019 Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
19Win18–1 Sergey Kuzmin UD12Sep 13, 2019 Hulu Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.Won WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title
18Win17–1 Fábio Maldonado TKO2 (10), 1:45May 25, 2019MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S.Retained WBA International heavyweight title
17Win16–1 Alexander Ustinov TKO9 (12), 1:52Nov 24, 2018Casino de Salle Medecin, Monte Carlo, MonacoWon vacant WBA International heavyweight title
16Win15–1 Martin Bakole TKO10 (10), 2:19Oct 13, 2018 York Hall, London, EnglandWon vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
15Win14–1 Iago Kiladze KO5 (10), 2:52Jun 10, 2018Pioneer Event Center, Lancaster, California, U.S.
14Win13–1Terrell Jamal WoodsUD6Apr 21, 2018International Plaza, Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
13Loss12–1 Oleksandr Usyk UD12Apr 8, 2017 MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S.For WBO cruiserweight title
12Win12–0 Isiah Thomas UD10May 13, 2016 Sam's Town Las Vegas, Sunrise Manor, Nevada, U.S.Won vacant WBO–NABO cruiserweight title
11Win11–0Phil WilliamsKO1 (8), 2:44Feb 27, 2016 Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S.
10Win10–0Jason DouglasRTD4 (10), 3:00Oct 13, 2015Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton, Washington, U.S.
9Win9–0Mike BissettTKO1 (8), 1:11Jul 25, 2015 Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
8Win8–0Deon ElamTKO4 (6), 1:23Jun 20, 2015 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
7Win7–0Avery GibsonUD8Feb 5, 2015The Hangar, Costa Mesa, California, U.S.
6Win6–0Harvey JollyTKO4 (6), 0:53Aug 22, 2014 Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, U.S.
5Win5–0Jerry ForrestUD8Jun 21, 2014 StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S.
4Win4–0Rodney HernandezUD6Apr 3, 2014 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
3Win3–0Gary TapusoaTKO2 (4), 1:41Jan 24, 2014 Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton, Washington, U.S.
2Win2–0Francisco MirelesKO1 (4), 0:59Aug 30, 2013 Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, San Diego, California, U.S.
1Win1–0Chad DavisTKO3 (4), 2:59Mar 9, 2013 Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.

Exhibition boxing record

1 fight0 wins1 loss
By decision01
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
1Loss0–1Artem SuslenkovUD1014 Apr, 2024 Humo Arena, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

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References

  1. ↑ "Olympics: Breazale, Hunter qualify for U.S. | RingTV". Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
  2. ↑ http://usaboxing.org/athletes/michael-hunter
  3. ↑ http://usaboxing.org/news/2011/05/01/ten-national-golden-gloves-champions-are-crowned-in-indy/42097
  4. ↑ "American Olympic Qualifier - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - May 5-12 2012".
  5. ↑ "Michael Hunter Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
  6. ↑ "Aleksandr Usyk Decisions a Very Game Michael Hunter". BoxingScene.com. 8 April 2017. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  7. ↑ "Michael Hunter stops Martin Bakole in the closing seconds of heavyweight slugfest". The Ring. 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  8. ↑ "Michael Hunter Drops, Stops Alexander Ustinov in Nine". BoxingScene.com. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  9. ↑ "Hunter vs Kuzmin - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets". Box.Live. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  10. ↑ "Povetkin vs Hunter - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets". Box.Live. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  11. ↑ "Michael Hunter, Alexander Povetkin Battle To Split Draw". BoxingScene.com. 7 December 2019. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
Sporting positions
Amateur boxing titles
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Jonte Willis 		U.S. super heavyweight champion
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Lenroy Thompson
Previous:
Lenroy Thompson		 U.S. super heavyweight champion
2009		Next:
Lenroy Thompson
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Jordan Shimmell 		U.S. heavyweight champion
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Title last held by
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Lost bid for world title		Vacant
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