On April 8, 2017, a 28-year-old Michael Hunter (12-0, 8 KOs) got a shot at the cruiserweight WBO title held by 30-year-old Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk (11-0, 10 KOs).
Hunter came in to the fight on a 12-fight win streak with a 66% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 10 months and 26 days. Usyk was on a 11-fight win streak with a 90% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 3 months and 22 days.
Oleksandr Usyk defeated Michael Hunter via unanimous decision and successfully defended his WBO cruiserweight title. Usyk improves his record to 12-0, while Hunter adds a loss to his record at 12-1.