David Malul Down Twice, Stops Lucien Hannah in the First

David Malul grabbed his pro debut out of the trashcan and put it on a pedestal with an amazing comeback against Lucien Hannah at the Paramount Theater in Huntington, New York, USA tonight. Malul was knocked down twice in the first round before scoring two of his own prior the end of the round.

From the outset, Hannah used his significant height advantage to land in between Malul's wide shots. David ate four clean punches and was wobbled before he fell to the canvas. When the Queens native rose, he showed tremendous bravery when caution would have been more prudent. A sneaky right hand counter by Hannah earned a second knockdown.

Malul's career flashed before his eyes. Hannah who had a two-and-a-half pound and nine inch height  advantage, was a difficult opponent for a pro debut and showed good skills throughout most of the first round in his own debut until he was tagged by Jason Moreno back in June. Malul soon had the 29 year old Hannah experiencing deja vu. An overhand right badly hurt Hannah. Lucien wouldn't quite go down which only hurt him as Malul quickly took advantage. A left hook finally knocked Hannah to the canvas.

Hannah got up, but was in big trouble. Incredibly, Malul had snatched back momentum, and the partisan crowd erupted as a result. Malul crushed Hannah with another right. Hannah fell into the ropes and went down. Referee Al LoBianco immediately halted the fight. "King" David is 1-0 with one KO while Hannah is probably the best 0-2 fighter with 2 KO losses in the world.

Malul showed he has lots of power, but he'll need to tighten up his punches to prevent counters. The first portion of the fight was fought at Hannah's range, and Malul was far too open defensively. It was an extremely exciting debut, but it exposed some weaknesses.

After the thrilling fight, David declared, "This is only the beginning." This performance definitely left fans wanting more of the king.