Michael Hunter vs Jerry Forrest Preview Dec. 2nd, 2021
Michael Hunter of Van Nuys, California will be taking on Jerry Forrest of Lafayette, Louisiana at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City this Thursday, December 2nd. The 10-round bout can be seen live on the FITE and Triller networks. Hunter last boxed in August when he stopped Mike Wilson in the fourth round for the WBA Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. Forrest last saw action in February when he fought to a 10-round draw with Zhilei Zhang after being dropped in the first, second and third rounds. Hunter and Forrest met in 2014 with Hunter earning an eight-round unanimous decision.
Hunter vs Forrest Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jerry Forrest +1200
- Michael Hunter -3300
My Pick
The 33-year-old Hunter, who fights out of Las Vegas, climbs through the ropes with a record of 20-1-1 with 14 Kos. He’s boxed 127 rounds since making his pro debut in 2013 after a fine amateur career. Hunter is the son of former pro heavyweight Mike ‘The Bounty Hunter’ Hunter. Michael fought at the Olympic Games in London in 2012 where he lost to current light heavyweight titleholder Artur Beterbiev.
He also fought at the 2007 World Championships in Chicago where he beat Andy Ruiz Jr. on his way to the quarterfinals. Hunter was a 2007 US National Champion in the Super Heavyweight division and also was the US Olympic Trials Gold medalist the same year. In 2008 he was an Olympic Trials silver and bronze medalist and beat Oscar Rivas on the way and also fought at the World Cup in Russian but failed to qualify for the Olympics in 2008.
Hunter was the US National Super Heavyweight Champ in 2009 and US National Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion in 2011. He was the 2012 US National Heavyweight Champion while competing at the Olympics. As a pro, Hunter has captured the WBO NABO Cruiserweight Title as well as the IBO Inter-Continental, WBA Inter-Continental, and WBA International Heavyweight Belts.
Hunter’s lone pro defeat came at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk by way of unanimous decision in 2017 in a shot at the WBO Cruiserweight Title. His biggest wins have been against Jason Douglas, Isiah Thomas, Iago Kiladze, Alexander Ustinov, Fabio Maldonado and Sergey Kuzmin while his lone draw came against Alexander Povetkin over 12 rounds in 2019. Hunter stands 6-feet-2-inches with a wingspan of 79.5 inches and also has good power with a knockout ratio of 63.6 per cent.
Forrest is also 33 years old and enters the fight with a record of 26-4-1 with 20 Kos. He made his pro debut back in 2012 and has 103 rounds of experience under his belt. The main reasons for his low round total are because he’s been 10 rounds just three times and plenty of his knockouts have come early in fights. And speaking of stoppages, he has good power, especially in his left hand, with a current knockout ratio of 64.5 per cent.
Forrest stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 78-inch reach which means he gives up an inch in height and 1.5-inches in reach to Hunter. His losses have been at the hands of Gerald Washington in 2013 when he was stopped in the second round, then an eight-round unanimous decision defeat to Hunter 10 months later in his next outing. He dropped a 10-round split decision to Jermaine Franklin in July, 2019 and a 10-round unanimous decision to Carlos Takam in 2020.
As you can see, when stepping up in class, Forrest hasn’t fared too well as of yet. His best wins have been over the likes of Riley Brooks, Marlon Hayes, Willis Lockett (twice), Grover Young (three times), Miree Coleman (twice), Edgar Perez and Lamont Capers. Just 13 of his 31 foes have entered the ring with winning records though and only four of the last eight.
Prediction…
When the two squared off in 2014, Hunter won all eight rounds as he boxed his way to a unanimous decision. Forrest was dropped in each of the first three rounds in his last outing against Zhang but then fought back valiantly as Zhang visibly ran out of gas. Hunter has improved over the years and while Forrest should give him a good fight I’m expecting Hunter to beat him again.
The difference in experience and skill points to a Hunter victory.
Play Hunter -3300 @ BetOnline.ag
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Jerry Forrest betting • Michael Hunter betting