Hunter vs. Kuzmin: Where Does It Put the Winner?
By: Shane Willoughby
The heavyweight division by many is seen as the most stacked division. With Wilder, Ruiz, Fury and Joshua seen as the top dogs, it’s about time we find out who is the best of the rest, and there are many fighters that can upset the apple cart.
Luis Ortiz, Dillian Whyte, Alexander Povetkin, Kubrat Pulev, Oleksandr Usyk and Joseph Parker are all in that tier just below the elite.
However two fighters whose names are rarely called but could be potential dark horses in the division, are set to face each other on the 13th September.
Both Sergei Kuzmin and Michael Hunter are both credible heavyweights with decent wins at the weight.
Kuzmin had an impressive 4th round stoppage over David Price, whilst Hunter, since moving up from Cruiserweight, has stopped veteran Alexander Ustinov and highly-touted prospect Martin Bakole.
However, for both fighters, the matchup between the two is a big step up from their previous opponents. Whilst Hunter has fought Usyk, it was at Cruiserweight and he lost, so a win over the Russian will be his best to date.
The most intriguing factor is both fighters will probably see themselves as favourites going into the matchup. Hunter because of his resume and Kuzmin due to him being the natural heavyweight and the more experienced campaigner.
To top it off, Kuzmin is undefeated, whilst the American has only a single loss which came in 2017. The pair should be more than confident that they can win and push onto bigger things.
Whoever wins this fight should be looking to fight for the title soon after but because of how stacked the division is they probably need another big win over one of the other contenders, or get in a mandatory position.
Most fight fans will make Hunter the slight favourite but Kuzmin is known for pulling off upsets. Anyone with an amateur win over both Hrgovic and Joe Joyce must be a good fighter.
