User blog comment:Observer Supreme/914 Review and Thoughts/@comment-25654036-20180818131659/@comment-24850639-20180821144914

Hawkins survived said encounter because of his Devil Fruit ability, not because of his "strength". Kizaru fodderized him just like any other Supernova at the time, he just had extra "lives". I think you forgot that the he stated himself, "I'm not gonna fight 2 of the Worst Generation head on", showing that he knows he's not on their level in a regular fight. Zoro also didn't underestimate Hawkins before he got hit by nails.....he literally said, "this guy is tougher than I thought, but that's to be expected", showing that before they were pursued Zoro was now taking Hawkins quite seriously.

Not saying Hawkins is weak by any means, but you gotta realize that his Devil Fruit makes his endurance stat kinda......broken. That's not necessarily a credit to him being "strong".