Nicholas Walters confident heading into Vasyl Lomachenko bout
Montego Bay is a popular tourist destination on Jamaica’s north coast. It’s known for its resort beaches, golf courses and amusement parks.
The Jamaican city is also the home of former world champion Nicholas Walters. The Axe Man, Walters’ nickname, will quickly tell you not every area in Montego Bay is soothing.
Walters grew up in the slums and didn’t have access to a boxing gym or gloves. He trained on the streets with juice boxes on his hands.
“Isn’t that dangerous?” one reporter asked.
“You gotta be a dangerous man,” Walters responded with a wink. “It’s a dangerous sport.”
Walters was filled with confidence and catchy one-liners during his Tuesday media workout at Top Rank Gym.
The hard-hitting Jamaican has the daunting task of stopping rising star Vasyl Lomachenko on Saturday inside The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Lomachenko, who’s defending his WBO junior lightweight belt, is a minus-900 favorite, according to VegasInsider.com.
Not many are giving Walters (26-0-1, 21 knockouts) a chance against the crafty Ukrainian, but it only takes one punch for an upset and Walters has the power to do it.
“I don’t think he’s going to stay in the pocket,” said Walters about Lomachenko, who’s known for throwing careless combinations at times. “It would be very deadly for him to stay in the pocket. If he stays there, then we’ll enjoy ourselves. He hasn’t fought anyone with my power.”
Walters has one of the most colorful personas in boxing. He speaks in third person and has arguably the best moniker in the sport.
“In Jamaica, when they talk about boxing, they talk about the Axe Man,” Walters said. “The youngsters want to be like the Axe Man.”
Walters stands out with his Jamaican accent, but he also speaks fluent Spanish. Walters has trained in Panama most of his professional career.
The 30-year-old Walters is a reggae music and cricket (the sport) aficionado. Walters said he would have played cricket at a high level if he didn’t choose boxing.
“Cricket is a very intelligent game and it’s a gentlemen’s sport also,” Walters said. “It helps you in life and it gives you discipline.”
Walters will need to stay discipline against Lomachenko (6-1, 4 KOs), who’s drawing comparisons to Manny Pacquiao and is a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
The Jamaican has had trouble making weight in the past and was stripped of his WBA featherweight title because of it. But when Walters is motivated and in shape, he’s one of the better fighters in the featherweight and junior lightweight divisions.
The undefeated boxer crushed future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire in 2014, but looked flat in a draw against Jason Sosa in December. Many boxing pundits scored the bout in favor of Walters, who hasn’t fought since the draw.
“My weight is right there at 130,” Walters said. “I’m feeling great. We’ve worked hard for this training camp and my team came here for the victory.”
Walters facing Lomachenko was scheduled to happen earlier this year, but Walters walked away from negotiations when Top Rank didn’t agree to his financial terms. This time, Top Rank offered a little more money and one of the better matchups in boxing was made.
“If Lomachenko is the top like everybody says, if you beat the top then who’s next?” Walters asked. “If you’re not getting paid at that level with the top, who are you going to make the big payday with? Mayweather is out of boxing. I needed to get paid.”
Arum reaches 2K
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum will promote his 2,000th boxing event Saturday when Walters and Lomachenko meet in the ring.
The legendary promoter celebrated his 50th anniversary working in boxing this year, a career that started with a Muhammad Ali card in Toronto in 1966. Ali retained his heavyweight belt against George Chuvalo in a 15-round decision.
“When I promoted my first fight my accountants were still using roman numerals,” said Arum, who turns 85 on Dec. 8. “It’s been quite an adventure.”
Arum has promoted bouts for numerous Hall-of-Fame fighters such as Oscar De La Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez, Erik Morales, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Ali, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard and many others.
Arum told the Review-Journal this year that his favorite card to promote was Leonard vs. Hagler at the Caesars Palace in 1987.
Frampton-Santa Cruz tickets
Tickets for the highly anticipated rematch between Carl Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz go on sale Tuesday at 9 a.m.
The featherweight bout takes place at the MGM Grand on Jan. 28. Tickets can be purchased on axs.com.
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.
