Who is a bigger underachiever: Michael Hunter or Murat Gassiev?

Gassiev didn't underachieve. His body was destroyed by injuries.

 

Hunter. In an alternate universe he's the #2 heavyweight behind Usyk

 

Gassiev was world champion, Hunter was not.

 

Hunter was as good as he could be, even if he wasn't a greedy slacker he still wouldn't have achieved more than he did and that's nothing...

 

Usyk proved neither of them were worthy. They didn't underachieve. They fulfilled their potentials.

 

Gassiev achieved more as he was IBF CW champion and fought for undisputed CW title. He was then later ruined by injuries.

What did Hunter actually achieve, he also did not achieve more because he was a lazy fighter who sold his prime to an unknown sports app.

 

Also, he was a unifed cruiserweight champ, so I don't really think he underachieved.

 

Hunter.

 

Hunter is the better fighter but never became a champion so it’s certainly him, even though his resume is more impressive.

Most thought he beat 40+ Povetkin at the time but he got a draw and Povetkin went on to fight (and KO) Whyte, who was top 3 ranked with Ring and WBC mandatory. That debatable decision destroyed his momentum and his motivation. He was on course for a big fight.

Further, he had multiple fights scheduled with Hughie Fury which could have got him back into the mix but Hughie pulled out. And Bakole clearly never felt confident about avenging his loss, which would have got Hunter back in contention if he won again.

Gassiev on the other hand got upset by Wallin. Hunter did avoid Hrgovic so he is not blameless for his career arc but iirc Gassiev did too.

 

Gassiev. Clearly a killer at Cruiserweight, and he was only 24 when he lost to Usyk. But he hasn´t had a meaningful win since then, and he is now 31.
Sure, he won a belt and all, but his career post Usyk is so damn pathetic, even if you account for the injuries. He had so much more to offer.

Hunter on the other hand peaked when he arguably beat a 40 year old Povetkin. He wasn´t good enough to really distinguish himself from that version of Povetkin.

 

I am not accusing the man, but it is notable that his hot streak ended and his competition fell when he was accused by the WBC of PEDs.

I hope I am wrong and I still hold out the smallest glimmer that he will make good. Apparently they are trying to make him and Pulev with the winner getting the winner of Wardly-Miller. Maybe he has a (long) shot yet, although he would have to fight a perfect fight if he got Wardley to avoid getting his head dented.

 

Definitely Hunter; Gassiev had a good run at his best weight division, had great wins vs Dorticos and Lebedev, and lost his title against an all time master Usyk. Hunter never fulfilled his potential; had a promising win against Bakole, yet never really kicked on and allowed himself to get out of shape and have a run against contenders with varying results.