By Keith Idec & Cliff Rold
BALTIMORE – Fans were treated to eight entertaining rounds in the Jr. welterweight division as 23-year old Malik Hawkins (16-0, 9 KO), 140 ¼, of Baltimore, Maryland won his fourth decision in a row over a tough 28-year old Jonathan Steele (9-5-1, 6 KO), 139 ¾, of Duncanville, Texas.
The bout featured regular exchanges at close quarters with Steele biting down hard, absorbing some big shots, and digging to the body in hopes of an upset. The taller, longer Hawkins landed more, and controlled more of the action, but the scores were wider than the effort of both men if still fair enough. Hawkins got the nod at 78-74 and 79-73 twice. The referee was Brent Bovell.
A division dominated by the international scene has a new American prospect to keep an eye on.
20-year old Jr. bantamweight Dylan Price (9-0, 6 KO), 115 ½, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, was sharp, fast and showed off tools from both stances but was extended eight rounds for the first time in his career.
To his credit, Price didn’t appear to lose many of those rounds as he worked over the body and steadily peppered 30-year old Samuel Gutierrez (16-24-6, 6 KO), 116, of Saltillo, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico. Final scores came in at 78-74 and 79-73 twice. The referee was David Braslow.
The steaming portion of the undercard kicked off in the Jr. welterweight division.
23-year old Kareem Martin (13-2-1, 4 KO), 139 ¾, of Washington, DC made a successful debut at 140 lbs. with his first stoppage since 2015. 27-year old Luis Arias (8-19-3, 5 KO), 139 ¼, of La Cabos, Baja California, Mexico, was waved off in the corner before for the start of round four after a steady beating from the opening bell.
Martin was on point with his jab, right to the body, and left hook, landing them all seemingly at will. By the end of the third, Arias had almost nothing left but will; the stoppage played wise. The referee was Harvey Dock.
Jayson Velez hit Hector Suarez with virtually every power punch possible Saturday night, from almost any angle you could imagine.
The 130-pound contender still couldn’t knock out his durable opponent. It took a ringside physician to halt their scheduled 10-rounder at 2:07 of the seventh round for him to stop Suarez.
Puerto Rico’s Velez had dominated Suarez before their fight was stopped on the Gervonta Davis-Ricardo Nunez undercard at Royal Farms Arena. Velez (29-5-1, 21 KOs) had a particularly strong fifth round, when he landed several hard right hands on Suarez (12-11-2, 6 KOs).
The 31-year-old Velez won a third straight fight since dropping a 10-round unanimous decision to unbeaten prospect Ryan Garcia 14 months ago in Carson, California. The 23-year-old Suarez is 0-7-1 in his past eight fights, but the Mexican veteran lost by knockout or technical knockout for just the second time in 25 fights since he turned pro five years ago.
Kenny Robles extended his winning streak Saturday, but it wasn’t easy.
The junior welterweight from Staten Island overcame a first-round knockdown, hurt Shawn West multiple times and won a unanimous decision in their six-rounder on the Gervonta Davis-Ricardo Nunez undercard at Royal Farms Arena. Robles (7-1, 3 KOs) won the bout by scores of 60-55, 59-55 and 58-55.
West lost for the first time as a pro (3-1, 2 KOs).
Robles had taken control by the third round, but both boxers landed power shots during the second half of what was a competitive contest.
After suffering a knockdown late in the first round, Robles rocked West with a left hook late in the second round.
That shot knocked West into the ropes. Robles wobbled West with a right hand several seconds later.
Robles seemed to buzz West with a right hand late in the first round, but West quickly caught Robles with a right hand that made Robles stumble. Robles’ right glove touched the canvas, which counted as a knockdown.
Following those shaky sequences in the first and second rounds, neither fighter was hurt badly in the final four rounds.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.