Michael Hunter (American boxer)
Michael Hunter, Jr. 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. He is the son of late professional boxer Mike "the Bounty" Hunter.
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 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.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. At the Olympics, he was eliminated in the first round by Artur Beterbiyev.
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.Professional boxing record
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
20 | Draw | 18–1–1 | Alexander Povetkin | 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, 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, 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, 2:19 | Oct 13, 2018 | York Hall, London, England | Won vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
15 | Win | 14–1 | Iago Kiladze | KO | 5, 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, 2:44 | Feb 27, 2016 | Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S. | |
10 | Win | 10–0 | Jason Douglas | 4, 3:00 | Oct 13, 2015 | Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton, Washington, U.S. | ||
9 | Win | 9–0 | Mike Bissett | TKO | 1, 1:11 | Jul 25, 2015 | Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
8 | Win | 8–0 | Deon Elam | TKO | 4, 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, 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 | 6 | Apr 3, 2014 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. | ||
3 | Win | 3–0 | Gary Tapusoa | TKO | 2, 1:41 | Jan 24, 2014 | Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton, Washington, U.S. | |
2 | Win | 2–0 | Francisco Mireles | 1, 0:59 | Aug 30, 2013 | Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, San Diego, California, U.S. | ||
1 | Win | 1–0 | Chad Davis | 3, 2:59 | Mar 9, 2013 | Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |