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.
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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 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 2012 Olympics by winning his qualifier against Julio Castillo and Yamil Peralta. At the Olympics, he was eliminated in the first round by future professional world champion Artur Beterbiev who was at his second Olympics.

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.
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 him in the final seconds of the tenth, and last, round.
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.
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 on all three judges' scorecards.
On December 7, 2019, on the undercard of Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua II, Hunter faced former WBA 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. 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.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
27WinChristian Larrondo GarciaTKO5, 2:34Dec 8, 2024 Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico
26Win23–1–2Cassius ChaneyUD10Jun 7, 2024Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.Won vacant WBA Gold heavyweight title
25Win22–1–2Ignacio EsparzaTKO5, 0:10Mar 23, 2024Zapopan, Mexico
24Win21–1–2Miguel CubosTKO2, 0:42Sep 30, 2023Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Mexico
23Draw20–1–2Jerry ForrestSD10Dec 2, 2021Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, U.S.
22Win20–1–1Mike WilsonTKO4, 2:49Aug 3, 2021Hulu Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.Won vacant WBA Continental Americas heavyweight title
21Win19–1–1Shawn LaugheryKO4, 1:02Dec 18, 2020Island Convention Center, Galveston, Texas, U.S.
20Draw18–1–1Alexander Povetkin12Dec 7, 2019Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
19Win18–1Sergey KuzminUD12Sep 13, 2019Hulu Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.Won WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title
18Win17–1Fábio MaldonadoTKO2, 1:45May 25, 2019MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S.Retained WBA International heavyweight title
17Win16–1Alexander UstinovTKO9, 1:52Nov 24, 2018Casino de Salle Medecin, Monte Carlo, MonacoWon vacant WBA International heavyweight title
16Win15–1Martin BakoleTKO10, 2:19Oct 13, 2018York Hall, London, EnglandWon vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
15Win14–1Iago KiladzeKO5, 2:52Jun 10, 2018Pioneer Event Center, Lancaster, California, U.S.
14Win13–1Terrell Jamal WoodsUD6Apr 21, 2018International Plaza, Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
13Loss12–1Oleksandr UsykUD12Apr 8, 2017MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S.For WBO cruiserweight title
12Win12–0Isiah ThomasUD10May 13, 2016Sam's Town Las Vegas, Sunrise Manor, Nevada, U.S.Won vacant WBO–NABO cruiserweight title
11Win11–0Phil WilliamsKO1, 2:44Feb 27, 2016Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S.
10Win10–0Jason Douglas4, 3:00Oct 13, 2015Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton, Washington, U.S.
9Win9–0Mike BissettTKO1, 1:11Jul 25, 2015Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
8Win8–0Deon ElamTKO4, 1:23Jun 20, 2015MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
7Win7–0Avery GibsonUD8Feb 5, 2015The Hangar, Costa Mesa, California, U.S.
6Win6–0Harvey JollyTKO4, 0:53Aug 22, 2014Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, U.S.
5Win5–0Jerry ForrestUD8Jun 21, 2014StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S.
4Win4–0Rodney Hernandez6Apr 3, 2014Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
3Win3–0Gary TapusoaTKO2, 1:41Jan 24, 2014Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton, Washington, U.S.
2Win2–0Francisco Mireles1, 0:59Aug 30, 2013Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, San Diego, California, U.S.
1Win1–0Chad Davis3, 2:59Mar 9, 2013Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.

Exhibition boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
1Loss0–1Artem Suslenkov8Apr 14, 2024Humo Arena, Tashkent, Uzbekistan