Malik Hawkins looks to Remain Unbeaten Against Fabian Lyimo

Talk to people from Baltimore, MD and they will tell you hometown hero, Malik Hawkins (14-0-0 9KOs) in on his way to a world title.  That may or may not be true, but one thing we know is he isn’t climbing the ranks easily. Hawkins is set to take on tough Tanzanian veteran Fabian Lyimo in in scheduled 8 round welterweight bout.  The fight, at the Met in Philadelphia, PA is part of Hard Hitting Promotions Bouts on Broad 2 taking place on April 26th.

Hawkins is fresh off a decision win against Glenwin Ortiz at the first Bouts on Broad.  Ortiz is no slouch despite the journeyman record and pushed Hawkins to his limits.  The early part of the fight had us wondering if Hawkins would fold under the pressure or rise to the occasion.  Hawkins previous fights had shown some potential exploitable flaws in his game which Ortiz look to take advantage of.  But like a champion, Hawkins was able to correct these deficiencies mid-fight and turn the tides against Ortiz.

Lyimo is a well traveled journeyman.  His most notable fight was a TKO loss to Julius Indongo for the WBO Africa Super Lightweight title.  This fight was two years ago, so we’re talking peak Indongo who ended the bout with a straight left on the chin.  Lyimo has also lost his last two bouts against good prospects and seems to be a tiered gatekeeper at this stage in his career.

I’ve got Hawkins taking this fight by unanimous decision.  I think Lyimo is a solid professional but I don’t think he’s as good as Ortiz was.  I believe Hawkins has taken the next step in his development. It also seems that whatever chops Lyimo had have passed him by.

That said, I’m excited to watch this fight because I love watching Hawkins.  I wish we saw some more knockouts from him at this stage of his career but as I said before, he isn’t taking the easy route to the top.

Check out more about the Bouts on Broad 2 fights here.