Press Release: The United States’ Michael Hunter (Las Vegas) will open World Cup action on Wednesday with a quarterfinal bout against home country boxer Niyaz Fazullin of Russia. If Hunter wins his opening bout in Moscow, he will face the winner of Olympic silver medalist Zhilei Zhang of China and Cuba’s Robert Acea Alfonso. World Cup action will begin at 2 p.m. Russia time, and Hunter’s bout will be the 22nd contest of the session. Hunter was the only American invited to the event. All of the World Cup competition is being contested at the “Megasport” Sports Palace in Moscow. The 2008 World Cup is the 12th edition of the event and the first since the 1998 tournament in Beijing, China to take place in an individual format, rather than a team competition. The first-ever World Cup was held in 1979 in New York City.