Heavyweight contender Michael Hunter is very familiar with the abilities of Oleksandr Usyk,

Back in 2017, Hunter was still competing in the cruiserweight division when he suffered the sole defeat of his career when he dropped a twelve round unanimous decision to Usyk.

Hunter would move up to heavyweight in his next fight.

Usyk would continue his cruiserweight march by cleaning out the weight class and becoming the undisputed champion.

He would later vacate his four belts and make the climb to the heavyweight limit in 2019 to pursue more gold.

On September 25, Usyk will challenge IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Hunter views Usyk as a very dangerous challenger to Joshua's reign.

"He is fleet-footed and defensive-minded," Hunter told Sky Sports about Usyk.

"It will be very difficult to actually get a win over Usyk in a certain fashion. Joshua will have to have a concrete game-plan and follow it. It will be a very hard task. If he pulls it off? Give the man credit. Because this style of fighting, for him, is the most difficult."

Hunter rejects the constant chatter that Usyk is not big enough or strong enough to topple a fighter like Joshua.

"Anybody at the 200lbs weight class is pretty much a heavyweight. We all hit hard," Hunter said.

"Even though he doesn't focus on hitting hard, he has enough power to absorb and withstand punches. He is bulking up and he is taller than me, he has some length to him. He will do exceptionally well. He hasn't taken any Ls and hasn't been in any trouble since he's been pro.

"A lot of people are saying he hasn't performed to the best of his abilities. Against Joshua, he will have to. He has done it a few times before, like at the Olympics. He is a Grade-A boxer. Joshua is still learning on the job, going through experiences. There is an element of surprise because we don't know what type of Joshua will come out. We know what type of Usyk will come out, we just don't know at what level."