Heavyweight contenders Hughie Fury and Michael Hunter have agreed to a fight taking place in July. Promoter Ben Shalom states that the exact date and venue are still being worked out.
The 27-year-old Fury (26-3, 15 KOs) is taking on another solid contender in #2 WBA, #9 WBC Hunter (20-1-2, 14 KOs).
A victory over the 33-year-old Hunter could place the nine-year professional Hughie in a position that could soon be challenging for a world title.
Hughie had a chance to put himself in a position to challenge WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in 2019. Unfortunately, he was beaten by Alexander Povetkin by a close 12-round unanimous in a title eliminator.
The 6’6″ Fury has looked improved lately, winning his last three fights against Pavel Sour, Mariusz Wach, and Christian Hammer.
Hunter has had some tough luck lately, fighting to a pair of draws against Povetkin and Jerry Forrest. He destroyed Shawn Laughery and Mike Wilson by fourth-round knockouts in two impressive performances.
However, Hunter opted not to take on Filip Hrgovic in an IBF title eliminator that would have locked him as the mandatory challenger to champion Oleksandr Usyk.
“We have Fury – Hunter in early July. The terms have been agreed, so it’s just about the date in early July,” said Ben Shalom to Boxing Social about a fight between heavyweight contenders Hughie Fury and Michael Hunter.
“That’s an unbelievable fight,” Shalom continued about the Hughie vs. Hunter fight. “That’s a 50-50 fight on paper. Fury is ready for that fight, and he’s been waiting.
“He was meant to fight [Robert Helenious], and that was what was ordered. Helenius didn’t take it in the end. Michael Hunter is one of those fighters that we all know how good he is.
“He’s never really reached the heights that he could. I’m looking forward to that one in early July. It’s a massive moment for Hughie. It’s the start for Hughie.
“He’s fought such elite guys in the early stage in his career, and now he’s probably feeling like he’s coming into his prime. That’s a big fight for him, and hopefully, he goes on to bigger and better things,” said Shalom about Hughie.
It’ll be interesting to see if Hughie can continue his impressive run because he looks like he’s gotten a lot better lately, showing more power and skills than ever before.
If Hughie keeps improving, he’d have a decent chance of defeating IBF/WBA/WBO champion Usyk if he’s still the belt holder by the time he gets a shot.
tiny_acres wrote: ↑14 May 2022, 13:26
This fight would be a cure for insomnia
To be fair, Hughie seems much bigger and more aggressive nowadays.
I don’t think it’ll be a particularly enjoyable fight to watch, but both of these men are definitely top-fifteen, possibly even higher, rated heavyweights.
tiny_acres wrote: ↑14 May 2022, 13:26
This fight would be a cure for insomnia
To be fair, Hughie seems much bigger and more aggressive nowadays.
I don’t think it’ll be a particularly enjoyable fight to watch, but both of these men are definitely top-fifteen, possibly even higher, rated heavyweights.
In my opinion they are both just outside the top 15.
i know jerry forrest is a tough guy, but drawing with him looks pretty unimpressive based on the fight tonight. i guess both jerry and hughie are both sons of pulev now
hughie should be able to do enough slapping, fiddling, and sh!t on the outside while hunter tries getting in. should be a decision in an awful fight
That is if Hunter comes in bringing his A+ game. Much as I am a fan of the Fury family, and I like that Hughie is being a little more offensively minded, if Hunter is dead set on winning Hughie may very well lose the fight.
But, then again, I do think Hughie is pretty underrated in terms of his elusiveness and he's always had very good conditioning and he is awkward. So this is going to make for a very interesting fight where either guy can win.
oogiebe wrote: ↑15 May 2022, 17:22
Fight to avoid.
Or... Fight to watch later if it turns out to be interesting (highly unlikely as it sounds)
Hunter doesn't look as good as he did a few years ago. Lost something along the way that made me scrub him off my prospect list.
As for Hughie, he knew what he needed to do after the Parker fight- throw more punches! And he has ignored that.
A few years back Hunter put together some decent wins and seems to be a capable boxer.
Took the 0s from Bakole and Kuzmin and a draw against Povetkin. Not been up to much in the covid era and the draw vs Forrest isn't very inspiring.
The result for this is at least intruiging as it's something of a possibly 50/50 fight.
The size and awkwardness of Hughie might be too much for Hunter, but it should be competitive. The styles might gel. But they could equally clash as well.
worse.
