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WBA Denies Epic Sports’ Second Appeal; No. 2 Heavyweight Contender Michael Hunter & World Champion Kubrat Pulev To Meet Before the End of the Year
PhilBoxing.com Sun, 27 Jul 2025
MIAMI, FLA. (July 26, 2025)—The WBA has once again denied Epic Sports and Entertainment’s second appeal and interference of the WBA Heavyweight Championship fight between WBA Heavyweight Champion Kubrat “The Cobra” Pulev and the #2 contender Michael “The Bounty” Hunter.
The world’s greatest promoter, Don King, who won the $1.1 million purse bid by the WBA and Hunter’s promoter, has been given the green light a second time from the WBA to move forward in staging this championship fight.
“After a bunch of lies and disposing of two appeals, we are moving forward with looking for possible sites and sponsorships for this heavyweight championship to be held before the end of the year,” said King. “Michael Hunter is excited for this great opportunity, and he plans to show the world that he will take the belt from Pulev.’
The Southern California native Hunter (24-1-2, 17 KOs) won the vacant WBA Gold Heavyweight Title in June taking out Cassius Chaney in a 12-round unanimous decision at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. In his last fight in December, Hunter registered a fifth-round TKO over Christian Larrondo Garcia in Mexico. Hunter’s only career setback came back in 2017 when he lost a unanimous 12-round decision to current Oleksandr Usyk, who in December beat Tyson Fury to become just the third boxer to become an undisputed world champion in the two weight divisions in the “four-belt era”.
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