Mike Hunter (boxer)

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

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.

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) Denmark Brian Nielsen TKO 5 31/05/1996 Denmark Copenhagen, Denmark IBO Heavyweight Title.
Win 26–6–2 (1) United States Arthur Weathers PTS 10 03/11/1995 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Loss 25–6–2 (1) United States Marion Wilson SD 10 06/10/1995 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 25–5–2 (1) United States Will Hinton PTS 10 06/05/1995 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Loss 24–5–2 (1) Cuba Aurelio Perez UD 10 24/03/1995 Brazil São Paulo, Brazil
Loss 24–4–2 (1) Russia Alexander Zolkin SD 10 16/12/1994 United States Chester, West Virginia, U.S.
Win 24–3–2 (1) United States Keith McMurray SD 10 01/09/1994 United States Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Win 23–3–2 (1) United States Craig Payne PTS 10 19/05/1994 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
NC 22–3–2 (1) United States Buster Mathis Jr. NC 12 04/12/1993 United States Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. Retained USBA Heavyweight Title MD for Hunter overturned due to positive drug tests.
Win 22–3–2 United States Cecil Coffee UD 10 06/11/1993 South Africa Sun City, South Africa
Win 21–3–2 Russia Alexander Zolkin SD 12 05/08/1993 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Retained USBA Heavyweight Title
Win 20–3–2 United States Tyrell Biggs UD 12 17/01/1993 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Won USBA Heavyweight Title
Loss 19–3–2 South Africa Francois Botha MD 8 22/09/1992 United States El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Win 19–2–2 United States David Jaco TKO 3 14/02/1992 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 18–2–2 Puerto Rico Ossie Ocasio UD 10 14/12/1990 Australia Sydney, Australia
Win 17–2–2 Uruguay Jose Maria Flores Burlon TKO 1 31/10/1990 Australia Melbourne, Australia
Win 16–2–2 New Zealand Jimmy Thunder KO 4 14/08/1990 Australia Melbourne, Australia
Win 15–2–2 United States Pinklon Thomas UD 10 12/06/1990 United States Fort Bragg, North Carolina, U.S.
Win 14–2–2 United States Dwight Muhammad Qawi UD 12 16/03/1990 United States Newark, New Jersey, U.S. WBC Continental Americas Cruiserweight Title.
Win 13–2–2 United States Donald Coats KO 3 31/01/1989 United States Irvine, California, U.S.
Win 12–2–2 Canada Wade Parsons UD 8 06/12/1988 Canada Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Win 11–2–2 United States Dino Homsey KO 4 26/07/1988 Canada Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Win 10–2–2 United States Oliver McCall UD 10 22/01/1988 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Loss 9–2–2 United States Andre Smith UD 8 05/11/1987 United States Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Win 9–1–2 United States Rodney Stockton TKO 1 29/09/1987 United States Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Win 8–1–2 United States Gary Lightbourne KO 1 25/08/1987 United States Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Loss 7–1–2 United States Levi Billups SD 8 18/05/1987 United States Inglewood, California, U.S.
Win 7–0–2 United States Mike Gans UD 8 28/04/1987 United States Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Draw 6–0–2 United States James Pritchard PTS 6 20/02/1987 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 6–0–1 United States Kelvin Beatty UD 6 02/01/1987 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 5–0–1 United States Ken Crosby TKO 5 02/10/1986 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Draw 4–0–1 United States Woody Clark PTS 6 23/08/1986 United States Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.
Win 4–0 United States Avery Rawls UD 8 11/04/1986 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 3–0 United States Dominic Parker UD 6 02/03/1986 United States Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Win 2–0 United States Donald Vance PTS 4 18/01/1986 United States Staunton, Virginia, U.S.
Win 1–0 United States Warren Thompson SD 4 14/12/1985 United States 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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