Michael Hunter is set to land a bigger purse than Hughie Fury when the two heavyweights collide in a WBA world title eliminator in Manchester on July 2. Although a venue is still to be confirmed, Express Sport understands both fighters have now signed the fight contracts with an announcement expected imminently.
The bout will be promoted by BOXXER’s Ben Shalom, headlining a stacked card that will be broadcasted live on Sky Sports as the pair seek to move closer towards world honours.
Despite being the away fighter, Hunter is considered the A-side and will net close to £440,000 ($550,000) from his lucrative purse, per sources.
The Bounty Hunter, who is a free agent following his split from Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing in the summer of 2020, has also received assurances of a potential promotional contract with BOXXER – should he reign supreme.
Yet Hunter’s purse is likely to cause a stir with 27-year-old Fury, the younger cousin of WBC and Ring Magazine World Champion Tyson Fury, set to earn less than his opponent.
Nonetheless, both fighters can force their way into world title reckoning with victory and the winner is set to face whoever prevails from Daniel Dubois’ WBA interim title fight with Trevor Bryan in Miami on June 11.
Hunter, 21-1-2, has previously boxed on English shores when he successfully stopped Martin Bakole in October 2018 at York Hall.
The 33-year-old’s career has undeniably stagnated since his split from Matchroom, however, and he will have to raise the bar following a disappointing showing last time out in his split decision draw with Jerry Forrest in December when he was captured vomiting in between rounds.
Having previously shared the ring with pound-for-pound great Oleksandr Usyk in 2017, Hunter is not short of big-fight experience and was unfortunate not to come out on top in a pulsating draw with Alexander Povetkin on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Fury, 26-3, is out to continue his three-fight winning streak following his underwhelming defeat to the now-retired Russian veteran Povetkin in August 2019.
The Manchester fighter has struggled to prove he belongs at world level having also previously faced setbacks against Joseph Parker and Kubrat Pulev earlier in his career.
Shalom confirmed two weeks ago that terms had been agreed between the two fighters but the deal has now been formalised.
“That’s an unbelievable fight,” he told Boxing Social. “It’s a 50/50 fight on paper and Fury is ready for that, he’s been waiting for it.
“He was meant to fight Robert Helenius, that was what was ordered but Helenius didn’t take it in the end.
“Michael Hunter is one of those fighters that we all know how good he is and he’s never really reached the heights that we thought he could.
“Looking forward to that one in early July, it’s a massive moment for Hughie.”