Michael Hunter (American boxer)

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] As of November 2020, he is ranked as the world's seventh best active heavyweight by BoxRec, sixth by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board,[2] and eighth by The Ring magazine.[3] He is the son of late professional boxer Mike "the Bounty" Hunter.[4]

Michael Hunter
Statistics
Real nameMichael Hunter, Jr.
Nickname(s)The Bounty
Weight(s)
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Reach79 1⁄2 in (202 cm)
NationalityAmerican
Born (1988-07-10) July 10, 1988
Van Nuys, California, U.S.
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights21
Wins19
Wins by KO13
Losses1
Draws1
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  United States
U.S. National Championships
2012 Fort CarsonHeavyweight
World Junior Championships
2006 AgadirHeavyweight
Representing  California
Golden Gloves
2006 Omaha Super heavyweight
2011 Indianapolis Heavyweight

Amateur career

Hunter, who is coached by KC Ken Croom, is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 215 pounds, typically relied on speed and quickness to succeed.

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.[5]

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.[6] At the Olympics, he was eliminated in the first round by Artur Beterbiyev.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9]

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 Usitnov's corner threw in the towel.[10]

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.[11]

On December 7, 2019, on the undercard of Joshua vs Ruiz II, Hunter faced former 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.[12] Both fighters fought well and were aggressive at given points of the fight, making for a very entertaining bout. The find 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.[13]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
21 fights 19 wins 1 loss
By knockout 13 0
By decision 6 1
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
21 Win 19–1–1 Shawn Laughery KO 4 (10), 1:02 18 Dec 2020 Galveston Island Convention Center, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
20 Draw 18–1–1 Alexander Povetkin SD 12 Dec 7, 2019 Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
19 Win 18–1 Sergey Kuzmin UD 12 Sep 13, 2019 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Won WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title
18 Win 17–1 Fábio Maldonado TKO 2 (10), 1:45 May 25, 2019 MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S. Retained WBA International heavyweight title
17 Win 16–1 Alexander Ustinov TKO 9 (12), 1:52 Nov 24, 2018 Casino de Salle Medecin, Monte Carlo, Monaco Won vacant WBA International heavyweight title
16 Win 15–1 Martin Bakole TKO 10 (10), 2:19 Oct 13, 2018 York Hall, London, England Won vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
15 Win 14–1 Iago Kiladze KO 5 (10), 2:52 Jun 10, 2018 Pioneer Event Center, Lancaster, California, U.S.
14 Win 13–1 Terrell Jamal Woods UD 6 Apr 21, 2018 International Plaza, Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
13 Loss 12–1 Oleksandr Usyk UD 12 Apr 8, 2017 MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S. For WBO junior heavyweight title
12 Win 12–0 Isiah Thomas UD 10 May 13, 2016 Sam's Town Las Vegas, Sunrise Manor, Nevada, U.S. Won vacant WBO-NABO junior heavyweight title
11 Win 11–0 Phil Williams KO 1 (8), 2:44 Feb 27, 2016 Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S.
10 Win 10–0 Jason Douglas RTD 4 (10), 3:00 Oct 13, 2015 Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton, Washington, U.S.
9 Win 9–0 Mike Bissett TKO 1 (8), 1:11 Jul 25, 2015 Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 Deon Elam TKO 4 (6), 1:23 Jun 20, 2015 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 Avery Gibson UD 8 Feb 5, 2015 The Hangar, Costa Mesa, California, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Harvey Jolly TKO 4 (6), 0:53 Aug 22, 2014 Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Jerry Forrest UD 8 Jun 21, 2014 StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Rodney Hernandez UD 6 Apr 3, 2014 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Gary Tapusoa TKO 2 (4), 1:41 Jan 24, 2014 Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton, Washington, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 Francisco Mireles KO 1 (4), 0:59 Aug 30, 2013 Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, San Diego, California, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Chad Davis TKO 3 (4), 2:59 Mar 9, 2013 Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-08-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "RANKINGS | Transnational Boxing Rankings Board". TBRB. Archived from the original on 6 December 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  3. "Heavyweight ratings". The Ring. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  4. http://usaboxing.org/athletes/michael-hunter
  6. "American Olympic Qualifier - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - May 5-12 2012".
  7. "Michael Hunter Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
  8. "Aleksandr Usyk Decisions a Very Game Michael Hunter". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  9. "Michael Hunter stops Martin Bakole in the closing seconds of heavyweight slugfest". The Ring. 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  10. "Michael Hunter Drops, Stops Alexander Ustinov in Nine". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  11. "Hunter vs Kuzmin - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets". Box.Live. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  12. "Povetkin vs Hunter - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets". Box.Live. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  13. "Michael Hunter, Alexander Povetkin Battle To Split Draw". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
Sporting positions
Amateur boxing titles
Previous:
Jonte Willis		 U.S. super heavyweight champion
2007		 Next:
Lenroy Thompson
Previous:
Lenroy Thompson		 U.S. super heavyweight champion
2009		 Next:
Lenroy Thompson
Previous:
Jordan Shimmell		 U.S. heavyweight champion
2012		 Next:
King Alexander
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
BJ Flores		 WBO–NABO junior heavyweight champion
13 May 2016 – present		 Incumbent
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