Wikipedia

Mike Hunter (boxer)

This article is about the American heavyweight. For the English bantamweight, see Michael Hunter (boxer).

Mike Hunter (born September 14, 1959 – died February 8, 2006) was an American professional boxer who won the USBA Heavyweight title and the WBC Continental Americas Cruiserweight title.

Mike Hunter
Born(1959-09-14)September 14, 1959
DiedFebruary 8, 2006(2006-02-08) (aged 46)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesThe Bounty Hunter
Statistics
Weight(s)Cruiserweight
Heavyweight
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights36
Wins26
Wins by KO8
Losses7
Draws2
No contests1

Professional career

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Known as "The Bounty Hunter", Hunter was a colourful and erratic Heavyweight fringe contender during the early-to-mid 1990s, and was known for his unique boxing style, boxing skills, and good defense. Hunter's boxing career began in Maryland, after a seven-year stint in prison for armed robbery. Hunter's skills caught the attention of actor James Caan, who would manage Hunter for three years, before selling his contract to Bill Slayton. Hunter first became ranked by the major sanctioning bodies in 1990, and would defeat many notable boxers like Dwight Qawi, Pinklon Thomas, Tyrell Biggs, Oliver McCall, Jimmy Thunder, and Alexander Zolkin. During this long respectable run of results he lost a highly criticized points decision to fellow contender Francois Botha, after dropping Botha in the first round.

Although he was a very talented fighter and had a promising run during the 90s, he largely squandered his talent. By the mid-1990s, drug problems had begun to catch up to Hunter, evident to all after his victory over Buster Mathis, Jr., which was turned to a No-Contest following a positive drug test.

Hunter would lose three fights in the last year and a half of his career, before retiring following a loss to Danish Heavyweight Brian Nielsen for the IBO version of the heavyweight title.

Professional boxing record

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26 Wins (8 knockouts, 18 decisions), 7 Losses (1 knockout, 6 decisions), 2 Draws, 1 No Contest [1]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 26–7–2 (1)   Brian Nielsen TKO 5 31/05/1996   Copenhagen, Denmark IBO Heavyweight Title.
Win 26–6–2 (1)   Arthur Weathers PTS 10 03/11/1995   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Loss 25–6–2 (1)   Marion Wilson SD 10 06/10/1995   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 25–5–2 (1)   Will Hinton PTS 10 06/05/1995   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Loss 24–5–2 (1)   Aurelio Perez UD 10 24/03/1995   São Paulo, Brazil
Loss 24–4–2 (1)   Alexander Zolkin SD 10 16/12/1994   Chester, West Virginia, U.S.
Win 24–3–2 (1)   Keith McMurray SD 10 01/09/1994   Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Win 23–3–2 (1)   Craig Payne PTS 10 19/05/1994   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
NC 22–3–2 (1)   Buster Mathis Jr. NC 12 04/12/1993   Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. Retained USBA Heavyweight Title MD for Hunter overturned due to positive drug tests.
Win 22–3–2   Cecil Coffee UD 10 06/11/1993   Sun City, South Africa
Win 21–3–2   Alexander Zolkin SD 12 05/08/1993   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Retained USBA Heavyweight Title
Win 20–3–2   Tyrell Biggs UD 12 17/01/1993   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Won USBA Heavyweight Title
Loss 19–3–2   Francois Botha MD 8 22/09/1992   El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Win 19–2–2   David Jaco TKO 3 14/02/1992   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 18–2–2   Ossie Ocasio UD 10 14/12/1990   Sydney, Australia
Win 17–2–2   Jose Maria Flores Burlon TKO 1 31/10/1990   Melbourne, Australia
Win 16–2–2   Jimmy Thunder KO 4 14/08/1990   Melbourne, Australia
Win 15–2–2   Pinklon Thomas UD 10 12/06/1990   Fort Bragg, North Carolina, U.S.
Win 14–2–2   Dwight Muhammad Qawi UD 12 16/03/1990   Newark, New Jersey, U.S. WBC Continental Americas Cruiserweight Title.
Win 13–2–2   Donald Coats KO 3 31/01/1989   Irvine, California, U.S.
Win 12–2–2   Wade Parsons UD 8 06/12/1988   Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Win 11–2–2   Dino Homsey KO 4 26/07/1988   Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Win 10–2–2   Oliver McCall UD 10 22/01/1988   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Loss 9–2–2   Andre Smith UD 8 05/11/1987   Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Win 9–1–2   Rodney Stockton TKO 1 29/09/1987   Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Win 8–1–2   Gary Lightbourne KO 1 25/08/1987   Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Loss 7–1–2   Levi Billups SD 8 18/05/1987   Inglewood, California, U.S.
Win 7–0–2   Mike Gans UD 8 28/04/1987   Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Draw 6–0–2   James Pritchard PTS 6 20/02/1987   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 6–0–1   Kelvin Beatty UD 6 02/01/1987   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 5–0–1   Ken Crosby TKO 5 02/10/1986   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Draw 4–0–1   Woody Clark PTS 6 23/08/1986   Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.
Win 4–0   Avery Rawls UD 8 11/04/1986   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 3–0   Dominic Parker UD 6 02/03/1986   Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Win 2–0   Donald Vance PTS 4 18/01/1986   Staunton, Virginia, U.S.
Win 1–0   Warren Thompson SD 4 14/12/1985   Largo, Maryland, U.S.

Life after boxing

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Hunter returned to the sport in September 2005, working as an instructor and trainer at the Tru Boxing Gym in Hollywood.

Death

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On February 8, 2006, Hunter was on the roof of the St. Moritz Hotel in Los Angeles, when he encountered two Los Angeles police officers, who had set up a buy/bust sting operation surveillance. The officers reported that Hunter, who was unprovoked, hit an officer on the head with a gun. The other officer tackled Hunter, with the previous officer eventually joining in the struggle. Hunter broke free, and pointed his gun at the officers, who promptly shot him twice, in the chest and the arm. Hunter was taken to Cedars-Sinai Hospital, where he died. The two officers involved stated that they did not feel that Hunter was aware that they were police officers.

Personal

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His son Michael Hunter, Jr. became US amateur champ in 2007.

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  • The Knockout Shot [2] (L.A. Weekly)
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