Tunney Hunsaker

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Born
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Princeton, Kentucky, USA

Position
Boxer

Status
Deceased

Ethnicity
White

Team Number

Height
6 ft 0 in (183 cm)

Weight
186 lb (84 kg)

Outfitter

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Wage Year

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Sport

Fighting

Team
_Deceased Fighting

League
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Latest Results

					Cassius Clay vs Tunney Hunsaker	29 Oct 60

Description

Tunney Morgan Hunsaker (September 1, 1930 – April 27, 2005) was a mid-20th century American professional boxer, who also served as the Police Chief of Fayetteville, West Virginia.

Early life
He was born in the Western Kentucky town of Princeton, in Caldwell County. In his youth he served in the United States Air Force, stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Boxing career
In 1960, Hunsaker was Cassius Clay's (later Muhammad Ali) first opponent in a professional boxing bout. After the fight Hunsaker said, "Clay was as fast as lightning ... I tried every trick I knew to throw at him off balance but he was just too good". In a thumbnail profile of the fight the following January, young Cassius was reported as having remarked that Hunsaker's style was far different from what Clay had been exposed to as an amateur and Olympian; the young fighter admitted to nervousness going in, and that Hunsaker's aforementioned pro style, had given him trouble. This respect appears genuine, as it was lasting—in his autobiography, Ali said Hunsaker dealt him one of the hardest body blows he ever took in his career. Ali and Hunsaker became good friends and stayed in touch over the years. Hunsaker said he did not agree with Ali's decision to refuse military service, but praised him as a great humanitarian and athlete.

In the fight game, Hunsaker was a small heavyweight, perhaps better suited for light-heavy classification (175 lbs. limit); today, he would most likely compete as a cruiserweight (190 lbs. limit). He fought as a boxer-puncher, by his own telling. Hunsaker once appeared on the undercard at Madison Square Garden. Hunsaker ended up with a record of 17 wins with 15 defeats with 8 wins by knockout. His career ended after a boxing-related head injury suffered on April 6, 1962, in Beckley, West Virginia. Rushed to a Beckley hospital, Hunsaker was in a coma for 9 days during which he underwent two brain operations. His boxing record stood at 18 wins, 15 losses and 9 KOs.

Law enforcement career
Hunsaker served as Fayetteville police chief for 38 years, and was the youngest police chief in the history of West Virginia. He was later inducted into the Law Enforcement Hall Of Fame.

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Milestones

Former Youth Teams