Hunter Gets a Knockout, but He’s Still Not Satisfied

Heavyweight Mike Hunter just didn’t get enough from his fourth-round knockout of Donnie Coats Tuesday night in the main event of the monthly boxing program at the Irvine Marriott.

He stood in the ring and yelled to the sellout crowd of 1,250, “I want more, give me more.”

Unfortunately, Coats had no more to offer after taking a short left and an overpowering right to the head in the final 10 seconds of the round. Coats (7-6) spent the first 5 seconds of the 10 count on his back, and the next 5 trying to get to his feet, but he never made it.

In the locker room afterwards, Hunter was still looking for more.

“I want more, and I’m going to get it,” he said. “People are going to stop calling me the bargain hunter and start calling me the bounty hunter like they should.”

Hunter goes by the nickname “The Bounty Hunter.”

It was the fourth consecutive victory by Hunter (14-2), who lives in Los Angeles. It was also his third consecutive knockout.

Until 10 days ago, Coats had expected to fight Mark Wills, but when Wills came down with the flu, Hunter was the replacement.

“He really wasn’t ready,” said Hunter’s trainer, Bill Slayton. “But he’s the type of fighter who always wants to fight. We’d never seen Coats fight before, all we knew was his record.”

Neither fighter did much in the first round. Then Hunter started to take over in the second with a series of combinations. Coats had a late flurry in the third as Hunter appeared to spend most of the round resting.

In the fourth, Hunter scored early with a pair of rights to the chin. He later sent Coats to the corner with a strong left jab just before the knockout.

A pair of young local fighters won earlier bouts.

At 142 pounds, Kenny Comer (10-3) of Westminster won with a fourth-round knockout of Los Angeles’ Aaron Brown (8-10).

At 148, Ernie Chavez of Westminster won a 4-round decision over Charles Young (0-1) of Los Angeles.