Buakaw Por. Pramuk (Thailand) vs. Malik Watson (USA) - Muay Thai

Malik Watson is an up and coming Muay Thai Fighter from the USA. I had the pleasure of meeting him from his first day in Thailand at Phuket Top Team.  His mentor Cyrus Washington had helped him plan his trip to Thailand to take his Muay Thai game to the next level.  I still remember that first week, jetlagged and all, Cyrus made Malik wake up at 6am to run 10km before doing two sessions of Muay Thai.  Malik wasn't even allowed to ride a scooter to leave the camp, he was forced to take training seriously.  It paid off, two years later, Malik was scheduled to fight Yodsanklai Fairtex but was canceled due to injury.

A lot of controversy is aimed at Malik Watson, saying that the fight was a mismatch and Malik is unknown.  It doesn't help that Malik's style is very brash and comes off as cocky and arrogant.  However, maybe that's why people said about ago boxing greats that were just as cocky when starting out.  

Either way, it has worked in Malik's favor.  Who knows if Malik Watson is ready to fight the greats yet, but either way, it's a smart move for him as it'll put his name on the map.  And if Malik wins against a superstar, he will instantly become the most well known Muay Thai fighter in Thailand.  He really has nothing to lose.  Malik Watson is now scheduled to fight Buakaw Por. Pramuk on the May 6th MAX Muay Thai card.

Win or Lose Malik Watson is about to go from being a locally known up and coming fighter, to being well known for fighting the best in Thailand.  If I was in Malik's shoes I would ignore all of the haters and the people saying he's not ready and fight my heart out.

Here's a highlight reel of Malik Watson's Muay Thai fights.  Love him or hate him, he's here to compete against the best which is more than most guys talking trash about him on internet forums can say.

   

Edit:  Malik Watson is now training and fighting out of Lion Muay Thai in Phuket.


Edit: Here is the video of the full fight Buakaw vs. Malik
At first it looks like it will just be an exhibition, but it soon turned into a real fight with elbows, knees and knockout punches.  Was that planned or did ego's get the best of the two guys and they started fighting for real?  Who knows.




Warm Regards,

www.Facebook.com/12WeeksinThailand - Read about the adventures of training with Malik Watson, Cyrus Washington and others fighters during my 3 month fight camp at Phuket Top Team and Tiger Muay Thai.