Yes. CHIN. Never stopped in his career i think. Went the distance with Usyk as a pro, took flush left hands all over the place in the last three rounds and survived. Wasn't troubled at all by Bakole today who looks like a bum in terms of boxing skills but has power for sure. SPEED and MASSIVE NATURAL BOXING SKILLS all over the ****ing place. He outboxed Usyk for seven rounds, was up 5-2 on my card after 7 but gassed out a bit later on as he did a lot early (he won the first four rounds on my card). POWER. Stopped Kiladze as fast as Joyce and earlier than Kownacki. RING IQ. Cutting the ring very, very well. I recognized that for the first time vs. Usyk as he was moving very well around Usyk and Usyk had some problems to cut the distance on his own. If Hunter works on his stamina problems as he was gassing out vs Usyk and as it seems vs Bakole too he is a Top 10 HW for me and can easily challenge for a world title.
Maybe we will see. If Hunter wants it and stays active he can do it. In terms of natural abilities and boxing skills he is a Top 5 HW right now. I only can see two or three better boxers in the division right now when it comes to natural boxing talent and boxing skills. Usyk will be added after moving up and would be one of them.
He was actually beating Usyk until he gassed, wonder if his stamina will be better at HW not having to make weight
Usyk would've stopped him if he'd gone nuts on his ribs earlier in the fight like he did in round 9 or 10 IIRC. He really didn't like those body shots at all. But like many of us said before that fight he is a very good fighter and he only further confirmed that with his excellent performance tonight.
Lol he wasn't outboxing Usyk, he won 3 rounds at best, not more. IMO he was a heavy favourite vs Bakole and he will be a top heavyweight if he keeps active. He also seems to be a very likeable guy, wish him the best.
He actually won 4 rounds on Usyk that doesn't matter however bc one thing Usyk does well is maintain work capacity, certain punch count. Hunter doesn't have this back up plan and while a decent fighter nothing actually sets him apart from others outside the top 20 . A solid skilled guy but nothing tells me he will have an impact at HW.
His technique needs a lot of work before I can see him being a top 10 heavyweight, since his footwork and punching technique is still very sloppy.
This. I don't see Hunter's stamina or workrate holding up once he starts fighting better competition at heavyweight. Usyk's footwork and technique on the other hand are far more developed than Hunter's and Usyk's efficiency will work in his favor against many of the bigger and slower heavyweights, since he won't gas easily. However, the major question mark for Usyk is his durability, since it hasn't been tested yet.
He is game and has a chin, I'm not saying he is a world beater or will beat any of the top heavyweights but he could be a problem for a few of them. He let's his hands go, he isn't frightened to mix it and have a shoot out and that is dangerous for any opponent. He is one of those fighters you genuinely have to knock out to stop, he will just keep swinging until he drops or gets dropped. I'm a little bit of a fan of him now, like his attitude and determination.
Yeah... no. He kept the first 4 rounds really close. Then Usyk took over, and it wasn't because he gassed.
