Tag Archives: Michael hunter

Michael Hunter And Jerry Forrest Slug It Out To Split Decision Draw

Posted on 12/02/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Jerry Forrest knew that Michal Hunter was the better man when the two squared off more than seven years ago. However, after spending nearly a decade maturing and working on his craft, Forrest was steadfast in his belief that he was more than equipped to flip the script. Ultimately, he was right. Kind of.

In the main event slot at Hammerstein Ballroom, in New York City, both Hunter and Forrest made their way to the ring. Moments later, after the sound of the opening bell, it was bombs away.

With Hunter seemingly interested in ending the night early, he tagged his man with overhand rights in the center of the ring. Though he appeared wobbled at times, Forrest continued to move forward. As the rounds progressed, Forrest seemed to adapt to the hard shots of his former conqueror. The fringe contender marched forward, placed his hand hands up high, and began landing numerous shots of his own.

With Forrest beginning to claw his way back into it, Hunter focused his attack on the body. While he landed several hellacious blows, Forrest appeared unaffected as he continued to walk his man down.

In the eighth, Forrest had his best showing of the night. The 33-year-old burrowed his head into the chest of his man and uncorked an accurate left that continually snapped back the head of Hunter.

Seemingly running on fumes, Hunter spent the final two rounds fighting with his back against the ropes. He huffed and puffed but still found enough reserves to finish the fight on his feet.

At the sound of the final bell, both men rose their hands in the air believing victory was theirs for the taking. Nevertheless, neither man was pleased as their contest was ruled a split decision draw.

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Michael Hunter On Tyson Fury: “He Wasn’t Doing Too Well In The Gym”

Posted on 08/02/2021

By: Hans Themistode

The boxing world was immediately left deflated when the news broke.

With Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder set to settle the score on July 24th, fans were forced to wait as it was revealed that Fury contracted COVID-19. While many of the WBC/Ring Magazine’s fans wished him a speedy recovery, heavyweight contender Michael Hunter raised a suspicious eyebrow to the entire event.

Having spent plenty of time in training camp with Fury as he prepared for Wilder, Hunter was given an up-close seat to what took place behind the scenes. Although many regard the British native as the best heavyweight in the world, Hunter was left unimpressed with what he witnessed behind closed doors.

“He wasn’t doing too well in the gym,” said Hunter during an interview with FightHype.com.

There’s been an ongoing belief from team Wilder that Fury simply wasn’t ready to face him in the ring. The two originally faced off in February of 2020 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. While many were expecting a close contest, Fury bullied Wilder to the tune of two knockdowns and a subsequent stoppage win in the seventh round.

Since then, Wilder has been hard at work as he looks to regain his world title with new head trainer, Malik Scott. Their contest has officially been rescheduled and is set to take place on October 9th.

Wilder, 35, has unapologetically called out Fury and believes both he and his team are flat out lying about contracting the virus.

“Yo bro Malik Scott, say it ain’t so,” said Wilder on his Instagram account. “Not the COVID-19 lie. They’re going to hell for that one. Oct 9th, can not come any faster.”

Despite Wilder’s claims, Hunter won’t go as far as to say that the British native is lying. However, he is a bit incredulous about the entire turn of events.

“He wasn’t doing too well in the gym but not enough to call the fight off. To me, it was kind of funny because the first day they said somebody on his team got COVID and then the next thing we heard was Tyson got COVID so I thought it was a little fishy.”

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What’s Next For Otto Wallin?

Posted on 02/21/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Dominic Breazeale was viewed as a step-up fight. The kind that wouldn’t be an easy night at the office for Otto Wallin, but one that he should ultimately walk away from with his hand raised in victory if he wanted to place himself in title contention.

After 12 rounds with the former multiple-time title challenger, Wallin cruised past Breazeale and proved that another title shot could be just around the corner. Still, the Swedish product has more work to do if he wants to place himself in the front of the line when the dust at the top of the division clears between unified champion Anthony Joshua and WBC/Ring magazine belt holder, Tyson Fury, a man Wallin nearly defeated almost two years ago.

In order to get his next crack at a world title, Wallin will need to step up his competition. Luckily for him, the heavyweight division is filled with plenty of names that, if he beats, can place him on the map. Let’s take a look at the best matches to make for him next.

Charles Martin

Charles Martin’s title win in January of 2016 was a bit fluky. His contest against Vyacheslav Glazkov ended early in his favor due to Glazkov suffering an injury to his right knee. The injury was so bad in fact, that Glazkov has never fought again.

Still, despite the fortunate win, Martin (28-2-1, 25 KOs) loss the title in his first defense against Anthony Joshua in the second round. Outside of an additional loss to Adam Kownacki in 2018, Martin has reeled off three straight stoppage wins. His title reign may have been a short one, but defeating a former world champion is exactly the sort of win that Wallin needs plastered on his own resume.

Michael Hunter

There’s a lot to like about Michael Hunter. Since making the move to the heavyweight division he’s won seven contests with a draw against top contender Alexander Povetkin sandwiched in between. He was last seen in the ring closing out his 2020 with a fourth-round knockout win over Shawn Laughery.

Hunter (19-1-1, 13 KOs) didn’t appear to be in the best of shape but he picked up the win and continues to rise. For Wallin, beating an older Dominic Breazeale is a solid win, however, taking down a younger, fresher fighter in Hunter would begin to turn a few heads.

Dereck Chisora

Just when you think Dereck Chisora has nothing left in the tank, he turns back the clock a few years and makes everyone look a bit foolish. Going into his heavyweight showdown against Oleksandr Usyk in October of 2020, Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) wasn’t given much of a shot. The expectations were for the British contender to get outboxed for 12 rounds and look lethargic while trying to catch up to his man. While he didn’t pick up the win, Chisora put up one helluva fight.

Chisora’s career has always been a rollercoaster ride. He lost three straight fights to Robert Helenius, Vitali Klitschko and David Haye in 2011/2012, then reeled off five straight. He was knocked out cold against Dillian Whyte in 2018, then bounced back and started leaving his opponents comatose for three straight contests.

Chisora would present Wallin with the ultimate risk but a decent reward as a win over him would make everyone take notice.

Luis Ortiz

While a win over the other names on this list would make a few fans latch on to Wallin’s bandwagon, a victory over Luis Ortiz would make just about everyone jump on board.

Regardless of the dust on his birth certificate, the 41-year-old is still regarded as one of the best heavyweights in the world. Like most, the chin of Ortiz simply couldn’t hold up against the power of Deontay Wilder. Still, Ortiz (32-2, 27 KOs) carries around the sort of clout that Wallin needs.

Even at his current age, Ortiz is seldom, if ever called out. For Wallin, if he were able to not only call out the former title challenger but actually defeat him, he wouldn’t have to beg for a title shot. One would be presented to him immediately.

Kubrat Pulev

Kubrat Pulev is good, very good even but he doesn’t appear to be great. Under normal circumstances, Wallin would have little to gain in defeating him. With that being said, Pulev has the power of perception standing in his corner.

Just a few months ago, Pulev (28-2, 14 KOs) was standing across the ring from unified champion Anthony Joshua. Although it wasn’t exactly a close contest and despite Pulev getting knocked out in the ninth round, most of the boxing world remembers that he was at the very least, fighting for a world championship to begin with. Those opportunities aren’t given to just anyone.

A dominant win over him would make boxing fans compare performances. Considering the roll he’s on, if Wallin can somehow end things earlier than Joshua did, many will begin to consider Wallin as a worthy title contender.

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