Lomachenko to battles Walters on November 26

Super Featherweight titlist Vasyl Loamachenko will take on Nicholas Walters on November 26th at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas and on HBO, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Much thanks and appreciation must be given to HBO management for stepping up and getting this done,” said Top Rank’s Carl Moretti said of the network, which has had budget issues all year. “We’re talking Lomachenko, who is the best boxer, bar none, from 126 to 135 pounds, against Nicholas, who is a vicious puncher at any weight. Walters is as tough as they come and is so motivated for this fight. Walters has a Ph.D. in boxing — poor, hungry and determined.”

“We tried before to make this fight but we didn’t have enough funds to do the fight based on what Nicholas was asking for, and now we’ve increased what we originally offered and we can do the fight,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum told ESPN.com, adding that Walters would earn more than the $550,000 he turned down last time but that Lomachenko is not offering him a win bonus. “For me it’s the best fight we could put on at this point with Lomachenko. He is in my mind the best fighter in the world. I enjoy watching him so much. I get such a kick out of him and all the things he can do in that ring. He’s the best in the world, so the challenge is to get him the biggest possible test in every fight because that then corroborates my view of him.

“Unlike some fighters, who like to go easy once in a while, we look to get him the toughest possible guy out there to fight him because that is what he wants — the toughest, most dangerous guys. In this case, it’s Walters.”

“He wants the best challengers and for him the titles mean everything,” Arum said. “So if he goes up to lightweight, I’d have to match him with a champion. But right now we’re at the point where he has a top challenger in Walters.

“Last time we tried to make the fight it didn’t work out and maybe it wound up working out for the better because Lomachenko got the opportunity to fight for a world title against Martinez. Now Walters will make more money than we could offer him before because HBO is willing to pay more now.”