MICHAEL HUNTER CONTINUES HIS HEAVYWEIGHT ROLL

Boxing Talk
By Scott Shaffer

Michael Hunter TKO9 Alexander Ustinov… In Monte Carlo, Monaco, late sub Michael Hunter of the USA stopped an aging Alexander Ustinov in the ninth round. Hunter gave up tons of height, reach and weight but had youth on his side as Ustinov is 41 going on 51. With ex-world champion Hasim Rahman in his corner, Hunter floored Ustinov in round eight, hurting him badly and opening a cut on his forehead. The end came when Hunter scored a ninth-round knockdown and the referee immediately stopped the fight. Hunter is now 16-1 with three solid wins since he moved up to heavyweight following his lone pro loss to cruiserweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk. Hunter indicated he could be back in action on December 22nd, possibly against Zhilei Zang, who was originally slated to face Ustinov tonight (Zhilei had visa issues and could not enter Monaco).v At 34-3, Ustinov had a decent career including wins over David Tua and Monte Barrett, but retirement is the only reasonable option left for him source: dazn