Mike Hunter (born September 14, 1959 – died February 8, 2006) was an American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who won the USBA Heavyweight title and the WBC Continental Americas Cruiserweight title.

Professional career

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 James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Suppo ...

, 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 Tyrell Biggs (born December 22, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1998, and challenged once for the undisputed heavyweight title in 1987. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, havi ...

, Oliver McCall,

Jimmy Thunder Ti'a James Senio Peau (3 February 1966 – 13 February 2020), known professionally as Jimmy Thunder, was a Samoan-born New Zealand professional boxer who held the IBO heavyweight title from 1994 to 1995. He held multiple regional heavyweight ti ...

, and Alexander Zolkin. During this long respectable run of results he lost a highly criticized points decision to fellow contender

Francois Botha Francois "Frans" Botha (born 28 September 1968) is a South African former professional boxer and kickboxer. He competed in boxing from 1990 to 2014, and is perhaps best known for winning the IBF heavyweight title against Axel Schulz in 1995, ...

, 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

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 26 Wins (8 knockouts, 18 decisions), 7 Losses (1 knockout, 6 decisions), 2 Draws, 1 No Contest''

, - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=center , Loss , 26–7–2 , align=left, Brian Nielsen , TKO , 5 , 31/05/1996 , align=left,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 26–6–2 , align=left, Arthur Weathers , PTS , 10 , 03/11/1995 , align=left,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Loss , 25–6–2 , align=left, Marion Wilson , SD , 10 , 06/10/1995 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , , - , -align=center , Win , 25–5–2 , align=left, Will Hinton , PTS , 10 , 06/05/1995 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Loss , 24–5–2 , align=left, Aurelio Perez , UD , 10 , 24/03/1995 , align=left,

Sao Paulo SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U ...

, Brazil , , - , -align=center , Loss , 24–4–2 , align=left, Alexander Zolkin , SD , 10 , 16/12/1994 , align=left,

Chester, West Virginia Chester is a city in northern Hancock County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. Sharing a border with Ohio and lying about west of Pennsylvania, Chester is the northernmost cit ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 24–3–2 , align=left, Keith McMurray , SD , 10 , 01/09/1994 , align=left, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. , , - , -align=center , Win , 23–3–2 , align=left,

Craig Payne Craig Payne (May 22, 1961 – April 7, 2017) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2001, challenging for the IBO heavyweight title in 1992. As an amateur, he won the National Golden Gloves super heavyweight title in 1983. ...

, PTS , 10 , 19/05/1994 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , style="background:#ddd;", NC , 22–3–2 , align=left, Buster Mathis Jr. , NC , 12 , 04/12/1993 , align=left, Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 22–3–2 , align=left, Cecil Coffee , UD , 10 , 06/11/1993 , align=left, Sun City, South Africa , , - , -align=center , Win , 21–3–2 , align=left, Alexander Zolkin , SD , 12 , 05/08/1993 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 20–3–2 , align=left,

, UD , 12 , 17/01/1993 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Loss , 19–3–2 , align=left,

, MD , 8 , 22/09/1992 , align=left,

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

, U.S. , , - , -align=center , Win , 19–2–2 , align=left,

David Jaco David Lee Jaco (born January 24, 1954Steven Ponall (June 22, 2003). "The Fights of His Life". '' The Bradenton Herald'' (Database: NewsBank Retrieved January 26, 2014).) is a retired heavyweight boxer. He spent his career as a journeyman, fighting ...

, TKO , 3 , 14/02/1992 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 18–2–2 , align=left, Ossie Ocasio , UD , 10 , 14/12/1990 , align=left, Sydney, Australia , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 17–2–2 , align=left, Jose Maria Flores Burlon , TKO , 1 , 31/10/1990 , align=left, Melbourne, Australia , , - , -align=center , Win , 16–2–2 , align=left,

, KO , 4 , 14/08/1990 , align=left,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 15–2–2 , align=left, Pinklon Thomas , UD , 10 , 12/06/1990 , align=left,

Fort Bragg, North Carolina Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within C ...

, U.S. , , - , -align=center , Win , 14–2–2 , align=left,

Dwight Muhammad Qawi Dwight Muhammad Qawi (born Dwight Braxton; January 5, 1953) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1978 to 1998. He was a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC and ''Ring'' magazine light heavyweight tit ...

, UD , 12 , 16/03/1990 , align=left,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 12–2–2 , align=left, Wade Parsons , UD , 8 , 06/12/1988 , align=left, Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 11–2–2 , align=left, Dino Homsey , KO , 4 , 26/07/1988 , align=left, Los Angeles, California, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 10–2–2 , align=left, Oliver McCall , UD , 10 , 22/01/1988 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Loss , 9–2–2 , align=left, Andre Smith , UD , 8 , 05/11/1987 , align=left, Los Angeles, California, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 9–1–2 , align=left, Rodney Stockton , TKO , 1 , 29/09/1987 , align=left, Los Angeles, California, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 8–1–2 , align=left, Gary Lightbourne , KO , 1 , 25/08/1987 , align=left, Los Angeles, California, U.S. , , - , -align=center , Loss , 7–1–2 , align=left, Levi Billups , SD , 8 , 18/05/1987 , align=left, Inglewood, California, U.S. , , - , -align=center , Win , 7–0–2 , align=left, Mike Gans , UD , 8 , 28/04/1987 , align=left,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , style="background: #c5d2ea", Draw , 6–0–2 , align=left, James Pritchard , PTS , 6 , 20/02/1987 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 6–0–1 , align=left, Kelvin Beatty , UD , 6 , 02/01/1987 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 5–0–1 , align=left, Ken Crosby , TKO , 5 , 02/10/1986 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. , align=left, , -align=center , - , -align=center , style="background: #c5d2ea", Draw , 4–0–1 , align=left, Woody Clark , PTS , 6 , 23/08/1986 , align=left, Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Avery Rawls , UD , 8 , 11/04/1986 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Dominic Parker , UD , 6 , 02/03/1986 , align=left, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Donald Vance , PTS , 4 , 18/01/1986 , align=left, Staunton, Virginia, U.S. , align=left, , - , -align=center , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Warren Thompson , SD , 4 , 14/12/1985 , align=left,

Largo, Maryland Largo, located within greater Upper Marlboro, Maryland, is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,605 at the 2020 census. Largo is located just east of the ...

, U.S. , align=left,

Life after boxing

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

Death

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

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

Links and sources

*The Knockout Sho

(L.A. Weekly)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Mike Boxers from South Carolina 1959 births 2006 deaths Sportspeople from Greenville, South Carolina American male boxers Heavyweight boxers