Former featherweight champion Nicholas Walters bout scheduled for this Saturday against Arturo Santos is off due to Walters coming down with an illness, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Walters is off the show. He called us and told us he had a 101 degree temperature and was sick all weekend,” Top Rank’s Carl Moretti said. “He said his family has been sick and he caught it. He didn’t get better over the weekend and he sounded like a guy who had a 101 degree temperature, so I told him to do what you have to do to get better and we’ll reschedule for later in the year.”

By Jimmy Tobin-

Saturday night, at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, junior lightweight, Vasyl Lomachenko, made a quitter of Nicholas Walters in one of the most anticipated fights of last year. Walters found reasons enough in seven rounds of exposure to Lomachenko to suffer the fallout of an ignominious defeat rather than be further toyed with or worse.

Quietly ended a rivalry that would have provided greater drama had it played out at featherweight, where Walters—yet to lose a title on the scale, yet to suffer a draw a lightweight, still brimming with confidence from running roughshod over the worn and washed tributes offered to his mystique—was his most imposing. Perhaps too, had Walters not spent eleven months doing anything but fighting, doing whatever it was that made ominous the pictures of him as the weigh-in loomed, he would have mustered a better showing. Alas.

To conjure up a charitable narrative on Walter’s behalf seems like primarily the work of those embittered by the result (a Lomachenko victory even before a Walters loss). But what might they say?

Faced with a fighter near impossible to hit, it could be that Walters turned his back on his opponent, on his promoter, on a fight he never cared to participate in. Perhaps when Lomachenko unfurled his full arsenal, when he spun and struck Walters to dizzying effect in the seventh round, it was then that Walters decided that, while willing to endure 12 futile rounds he would not suffer another like the last. Maybe pride brought him to tell referee, Tony Weeks, he had no interest in fighting on, so humiliated was he by the prospect of being reduced to a sparring partner, a mere tool for practice.

Any one of these explanations is in keeping with a telling moment at the end of the fifth round. Lomachenko stood still in the center of the ring, and Walters, rather than seize the opportunity to walk Lomachenko down merely mirrored his opponent; when he did move, his first step was backward, away from Lomachenko, away, really, from any regard for the fight’s outcome. As the bell sounded to end the round, Walters simply shrugged his shoulders.

Walters had his reasons for quitting and so too will he have his consequences. The comeback trail for a fighter complicit in his defeat, a trail that already features less money and fewer television dates, is unlikely to be understanding let alone forgiving; nor, for that matter, is the collective pile-on that is the viewing public.

Underlying all of these interpretations of Walter’s conduct is Lomachenko, a generational talent, if not yet a great fighter. Fittingly, he went about his business last night in trunks and gloves patterned in a style resembling the work of pop artist, Roy Lichtenstein, who once said, “Art doesn’t transform. It plain forms.” Lomachenko is not transforming, altering, or changing his legacy so much as forming it in accordance with the ambition and talent he is endowed with. He is not held to the standards of a fighter with eight professional bouts because that would be an insult to him. And yet, it is important to keep that number in mind, because in that short span of time he has already beaten Gary Russell Jr., Rocky Martinez, and now Walters, which, while not the stuff of legend, is a feat unrivalled by any of his peers when they had less than ten fights. Even Lomachenko’s loss to Orlando Salido, which despite Salido’s manipulation of sportsmanship ended with the iron-willed Mexican on the brink, looks good.

It is not always a question of whether you win but how you do that matters, however. And while Walters must own some of the blame for the lack of fireworks Saturday night, Lomachenko’s performance was less riveting than his unmaking of Russell or his destruction of Martinez. And yet it was vintage Lomachenko (for better or worse).

Again Lomachenko erased the line between defense and offense as only he does: where punches are followed by defensive maneuvers that position him for further offense and so forth, all at the expense of opponents who are spun like flies in a spider’s web as the fatal bite closes in. Walters cocked his vaunted right hand repeatedly in the early rounds, but rarely threw it, nor did he stalk Lomachenko as he had even the most dangerous fighters he’d faced. He did not have to. Instead, Lomachenko brought the fight to Walters—and when that fight become its most intense, Walters capitulated. Here then, is the transformative element in Lomachenko’s work, best found on the bodies—in their wounds, in their language—of his opponents. Still, there are further transformations that need to take place for Lomachenko to monetize his talent.

Lomachenko’s mastery leaves some wanting more. Perhaps it is the incremental and protracted way he works, starting first with range and defense before incorporating his more hurtful—and compelling—elements of his game. Indeed, there is at least a moment or two in most all of Lomachenko’s fights where it is fair to ask why he is still fighting. He looks near flawless when he is shifting on opponents, slashing at them from improbable angles, but perhaps a little less precision, and a little more recklessness and savagery, would help him better resonate with the public. He is not a defensive fighter—his defense is a conduit for his offense—but his calculated attack understandably leaves the bloodthirsty cold.

There is a solution to his problem that requires Lomachenko make no stylistic concessions, however, one that could entrench him in a collective consciousness that extends well beyond the dwindling ranks of those who still turn to the ring for entertainment: seek out those fighters who fight with a passion you reserve only for your preparation, those fighters who carry both the hopes of a nation and a cultural obligation—and cut those men to ribbons.

By Bart Barry-

Saturday in Las Vegas the runnerup for 2016’s most-anticipated fight featured undefeated Jamaican Nicholas “Axe Man” Walters getting stripped bare in a super featherweight title match by once-defeated Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko. Walters decided quitting after seven rounds of being felled not once somehow blazed a nobler trail than absorbing a beating certain to multiply and deepen. Well. Unpleasant as things must’ve been for Walters he made the wrong decision and should expect in the future white feathers in lieu of television contracts.

Styles break fights, and if one compares the reality of Lomachenko-Walters to the fantasy so many aficionados entertained about it Saturday’s fare fairly well serves as the largest disappointment of 2016 – which, as disappointments go, is like being the captain of an all-star team. The boxer-slugger matchup, as Joe Frazier teaches us in “Boxing with the Pros”, ever favors the boxer, but even so, that was a bit much.

Anyone who’s not been ringside at a Walters fight before Saturday no doubt now entertains suspicions Walters was a Top Rank invention of (typically brilliant) matchmaking, a properly manufactured frame with which to hang the promoter’s latest masterpiece, but that’s inaccurate for once; Walters was special in an especially concussive way when he arrived in 2013. I was ringside for Walters’ American debut, a 3 1/2-round hatcheting of Mexican Alberto Garza in Corpus Christi, Texas, and it left a mark. I recall clearly but three emotions from the fights that night: Thankfulness San Antonio’s Steve Hall did not perish in his encounter with Alex Saucedo, amusement Vic Darchinyan outboxed Nonito Donaire for eight rounds, and holy mackerel that guy with the wooden axe can crack! Very few fighters at the championship level have gamechanging power not because very few guys at the championship level hit hard but because everyone at the championship level hits hard, and subsequently fighters don’t make it to the championship level without they can absorb stiff shots. Walters didn’t just hit his opponent with a stroke that shocked Garza but observed Garza’s fright with no shock of his own – Walters waded into what panic emanated from Garza without malevolence: “I’m supposed to cause that.”

Four months later I was ringside when Lomachenko’s debut in a championship fight did not go nearly so impressively against Mexican Orlando Salido in San Antonio’s Alamodome. Salido missed weight by a couple or three weightclasses, if memory serves, and fouled Lomachenko compulsively but as we’d been promised by Lomachenko’s promoters some combination of the greatest amateur in boxing history and the greatest professional to come in boxing history most of us succumbed to schadenfreude and were at least amused by the spectacle of a 12-loss grinder decisioning the future of boxing – not amused as we’d been 90 days before when Chino ravished About Billions, but still.

First impressions and all that: I fully expected Lomachenko-Walters to be intense and intensely memorable and wanted very much to see what the future of boxing did with his introduction to the Axe Man’s blade. We’ll never know, will we, as Lomachenko so wildly outclassed the Axe Man the few punches Walters nearly landed were thrown with so little resolve as to be pittypats had they landed and whiteflags otherwise.

Does that make Lomachenko the most skilled fighter in the world? Hell no, actually, it doesn’t; give the minimumweight equivalent of Siri Salido 10 extralegal pounds and all the fouls he can muster and he’d still not win three rounds against Roman Gonzalez in 100 minutes of trying, much less decision him on scorecards that are just. Lomachenko is an innovator and a supremely talented fighter, yes, but Chocolatito is perfect – and they’re not quite the same thing.

Watching Lomachenko dance and pepper, shake and grind Saturday recalled no one to mind so much as Sergio Martinez, another southpaw innovator who got beaten early in his career by a Mexican grinder. Lomachenko circles tighter and does everything a bit tighter than Maravilla did but he doesn’t hit so hard or he’d have copterforked the Jamaican long before Walters quit since there’s no confusing the Axe Man for the Punisher. While we’re on the subject of Walter’s stooljob, a couple lessons learned: First, when a guy attends a weighin with a marijuana leaf on his getup, no matter his nationality, don’t be shocked if he mills like a pothead; and second, remember always what makes sluggers vulnerable to boxers is the fragility of sluggers’ psyches – they get discouraged much quicker and more deeply than boxers or volume punchers do.

For all his abundance of showcased skill Lomachenko’s not too exciting, alas, no matter how much one interrogates instant replays and immerses himself in the audio of whatever promotional lunacy Lomachenko’s American cable network now amplifies about any prizefighter from the former Soviet Union. Unlike the rest of the Eastern Bloc fighters HBO has peddled aggressively at us seemingly since the Berlin Wall fell, though, Lomachenko is promoted by an outfit that knows how and occasionally asks its charges to take risks commensurate with the fortunes HBO is wont to invest in marketable personalities.

Saturday Lomachenko looked enormous at 130 pounds and shouldn’t have any trouble rising in weight to much bigger fights with Top Rank’s much bigger fighters, or they can give us a rematch with Salido on pay-per-view and see if that goes.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

Follow all the action as Vasyl Lomachenko defends the WBO Super Featherweight title against Nicholas Walters.  The action begins at 10:35 ET / 5:35 AM in Ukraine / 10:35 in Jamaica

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED

Round 1: Lomachenko lands a left and right

Round 2 Jab and quick lefts from Lomachenko..Good right from Walters..Straight left from Lomachenko…2 good jabs from Walters…Good left from Lomanchenko and another..

Round 3 Quick left inside from Lomachenko..Body shot from Walters..4 punch combination from Lomachenko

Round 4 Walters lands a left hook…Lomachenko counters twice…Body shot…Good hook from Walters

Round 5 Left to body by Lomanchenko…

Round 6 Good body shot from Walters..Right hook from Lomanchemko..Good body shot from Walters..Combibation from Lomanchenko…Lomachenko outlanding Walters 84-44

Round 7 Good body shot from Walters..Good left..Good left hook from Walters….WALTERS QUITS ON THE STOOL

Vasyl Lomachenko stopped Nicholas Walters after the 7th round to retain the WBO Super Featherweight title at the Cosmopoliton in Las Vegas.

Lomachenko was dominant as he won every round by landing quick cmbinations, showing off his superior boxing skills.  Walters was never hurt, but never seemed to get a rhythm against the ultra talaneted Lomachenko and shockingly decided he did not want to go on after the 7th round.

Lomachenko of Ukraine is now 7-1 with 5 knockouts.  Walters of Jamaica is 26-1-1.

I had my plan. I knew it would take four rounds and then I went to work on him,” said Lomachenko. “Walters said he would do this and that he would do that throughout training camp, and in the end, he just quit. I would like to fight [WBC super featherweight champion] Francisco Vargas next. My goal is to be the No. 1 pound for pound fighter.”

Konstantin Ponomarev remained undefeated by winning an 8-round unanimous decision over Silverio Ortiz in a welterweight bout.

Ponomarev, 148 1/2 lbs of Russia won by scores of 80-72 on all cards and is now 31-0.  Ortiz of Mexico is 35-19.

Trevor McCumby stopped Donovan George in the 1st round of their scheduled 8-round light heavyweight bout.

McCumby dropped George with a hard overhand right to the head. George was hurt but continued, only to eat a barrage of punches and another hard right hand on the ropes dropped George for a 2nd time, and referee Robert Byrd stopped the bout at 1:48.

McCumby, 172 1/4 lbs is now 24-0 with 19 knockouts. George, 175 lbs of Chicago, IL is 25-7-2.

Maxim Dadashev stopped Efrain Cruz in the 2nd round of their scheduled 6-round junior welterweight bout.

Dadashev pounded Cruz around in the 2nd round until a crushg left hook forced referee Kenny Bayless to stop the bout at 1:57 of round two.

Dadashev, 140 1/4 lbs of St. Petursburg, RUS is 5-0 with 5 knockouts. Cruz, 140 1/4 lbs of Puerto Rico is 4-3-1.

Juan Ruiz stopped Fernando Carcamo in the 1st round of their scheduled 8-round welterweight bout.

In round one, Ruiz dropped Carcamo with a hard right hand. Towards the end of the round, Ruiz landed another left-right combination that put Caracamo down again and the fight was stopped at 2:43.

Ruiz, 146 3/4 lbs of Tijuana, MX is now 18-0-1 with 11 knockouts. Carcamo, 146 1/2 lbs of Ciudad, MX is 21-8.

LONDON (25 November) – Pound-for-pound star Vasyl Lomachenko expects a very difficult night’s work when he steps in against the formidable Nicholas Walters.

The pair clash this Saturday, in what is one of the year’s most eagerly anticipated bouts, leading a stunning triple-header on BoxNation which also sees Terry Flanagan defend his WBO lightweight world title against Orlando Cruz earlier in the day, with Bradley Skeete and John Thain doing battle for the British welterweight title exclusively live tonight.

Super-featherweight world champion Lomachenko has constantly looked to test himself against the very best since turning professional in 2013 and against the undefeated Walters he is expecting to see out an early blitz before stopping the former WBA Super champion.

“I think it is going to be very, very hard for me in the first four rounds, then after that I will be trying to terminate the bout,” said Lomachenko.

“This is a very important bout for me because many boxing experts and many people in boxing rank Walters as the highest-rated fighter in our division.

“He is a very hard puncher and a very good boxer and for me it’s a very important thing to fight the best and it’s very important for me because everyone says he is a very good fighter,” he said.

‘Axe Man’ Walters is among the hard-hitters around, with 21 knockouts in his 26 wins, including impressive stoppages over Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan.

The 30-year-old Jamaican, who has not fought in nearly a year, is undaunted at going in against Lomachenko, a two-weight world champion after just seven bouts, the second of which was a split decision loss to Orlando Salido, something Walters wants to exploit.

“As a fighter I have always been in the gym working out so the layoff wouldn’t even bother me and I wouldn’t take the fight if I thought I wasn’t going to be ready,“ said Walters.

“I don’t think this is a different Lomachenko from the guy that lost to Salido – he is the same Lomachenko. They say a leopard cannot change his spots right?

“Since he did lose to Salido, he can be as technical as he wants, but I am in the hurt business – this is a gladiator sport and I fight all of my fights like that, I fight like a gladiator.

“He can come in with his technical fight on Saturday and I am going to be up for it and put on a helluva show on Saturday night,” Walters said.

BoxNation is crammed with live fight action starting tonight when 29-year-old Skeete looks to advance his claim as one of Britain’s best 147-pounders when he faces Edinburgh fighter Thain for the British title at The Brentwood Centre in Essex.

Middleweight Lee Markham takes on Andrew Robinson for the English title on the card, with exciting youngster Boy Jones Junior facing Martin Hillman.

Saturday night will see the return of lightweight world champion ‘Turbo’ Flanagan as he defends his title against Puerto Rican hotshot Cruz, with the Manchester boxer hoping to put on a show at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff.

Unbeaten Liam Williams will be up against Hungarian Gabor Gorbics for the vacant WBO European super-welterweight title, with the skilled and undefeated Tommy Langford sharing the ring with Sam Sheedy for the British middleweight title.

Using the code ‘BlackFriday’ new BoxNation subscribers on the Sky platform will be able to join the channel with no registration fee up until midnight on Saturday 26th November.

‘The Channel of Champions’ has an incredible lineup of live fights coming up including lightweight superstar Terrence Crawford v John Molina and the final fight of the legendary Bernard Hopkins who challenges Joe Smith Jr next month.

BoxNation (Sky/Freeview/Virgin/TalkTalk/EE/Apple TV/Online & App) is available for just £12 a month. Buy now at boxnation.com.

– ENDS –
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HBO Boxing serves up a thrilling night of boxing action on Thanksgiving weekend when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: VASYL LOMACHENKO vs. NICHOLAS WALTERS is seen SATURDAY, NOV. 26 at 10:35 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates: Nov. 27 (8:45 a.m.) and 28 (12:50 a.m.)

HBO2 playdate: Nov. 29 (1:00 a.m.)

The fight will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

In a highly anticipated junior lightweight title showdown, reigning champ Vasyl Lomachenko (6-1, 4 KOs), originally from Odessa and now training in Oxnard, Cal., faces off against undefeated knockout artist Nicholas Walters (26-0-1, 21 KOs) of Montego Bay, Jamaica in a scheduled 12-round contest.

Amassing impressive records as a brilliant amateur boxer and two-time Olympic gold medalist (2008 & 2012), Lomachenko turned pro in 2013 and has already captured titles in the featherweight and junior lightweight divisions after just seven career fights, dethroning Gary Russell and Rocky Martinez. His willingness to meet any challenge has made him one of the sport’s most intriguing rising stars.

A formidable challenger with a sterling 78% knockout-to-win ratio, Walters’ only career blemish is a Dec. 2015 majority draw against Jason Sosa, which many observers considered a questionable outcome. His matchup with Lomachenko at 130 pounds has the boxing world buzzing with anticipation.

Prior to the live fight, HBO Sports will replay the hotly debated light heavyweight championship fight between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward that took place on Nov. 19 in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena. The 12-round pay-per-view battle ended with all three judges agreeing that the challenger had won by the narrowest of margins.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jon Crystal; director, Johnathan Evans.

® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (Nov. 21, 2016) — Two-division world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist VASYL LOMACHENKO (6-1, 4 KOs), of Odessa, Ukariane, undefeated former World Boxing Association (WBA) world featherweight champion NICHOLAS “Axe Man” WALTERS (26-0-1, 21 KOs), of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum began their Fight Week in Las Vegas with a Q & A today. Lomachenko will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior lightweight title against Walters This Saturday, Nov. 26, at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. It will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 10:35 p.m. ET/PT. This will mark the 2,000th event Arum has promoted, dating back to March 29, 1966, when World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali defended his title against George Chuvalo. The HBO® telecast will also feature the replay of last week’s controversial light heavyweight title fight between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward.

Q & A

BOB ARUM: This is my 2000th event and this fight is worthy of being my 2,000th event. Nicholas Walters is the hardest puncher in these divisions — they don’t call him the “Axe Man” for nothing and he always give 100%. And Vasyl Lomachenko is an unbelievable technician who has done really the impossible, winning world titles in two divisions in a record-few seven professional fights. So I look for a Fight of the Year candidate on Saturday night at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and everybody can watch it live on HBO in addition to the replay of the controversial fight from Saturday between Kovalev and Ward. And what I think is the Fight of the Year candidate Lomachenko vs. Walters. I’m a big fan of both guys. I think Walters is a tremendous fighter and I enjoy the way he fights.

LOMACHENKO: I would like to congratulate Bob Arum on his 2000th event and I am proud to be on his 2000th fight card. I wish him very good health and I hope he can make a 2,500th card so I can be on that also.

Why the interest in fighting Walters now when there were trepidations before?

LOMACHENKO: This is a very important bout for me because many boxing experts and many people in boxing rank Walters as the highest-rated fighter in our division. He is a very hard puncher and a very good boxer and for me it’s a very important thing to me to fight the best and it’s very important for me because everyone says he is a very good fighter.

How do you think this fight will go with Walters since he is a bigger boxer?

LOMACHENKO: I don’t know. I cannot answer that question. I can’t tell you exactly how it’s going to go or tell you what is going to happen in the ring. That will depend on how it begins in the ring. It is boxing and everything is going to happen very fast.

Where did you learn your creativity? Were there any boxers you watch while younger that you learned from?

LOMACHENKO: First of all, I would like you to know that everything that I have is what my father created in me and my father put everything together into me. Secondly I am a workaholic – I work hard. I do not cheat myself in training, I work very hard and somehow God has given me great balance that helps me put everything together.

There is a video on You Tube that compares Vasyl to The Matrix. Have you seen the video? What is your reaction? There are many people outside of boxing that have seen this video…

LOMACHENKO: This is exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to let different people know, people outside of boxing, to know me. I think the boxing game is one that people have forgotten about and they are not enjoying it as much. I want to bring back and show how interesting boxing can be. I am the motherboard.

Do you have a plan for the future? What do you see as the endgame?

LOMACHENKO: For sure I was thinking about that, and my contract is over in six or seven months and that’s when I am thinking about finishing my career (laughing at his joke).

BOB ARUM: I would like to say this; that Vasyl Lomachenko is technically the best fighter that I have seen since the early Muhammad Ali. There is nobody that I have seen, and there have been a lot of great technical fighters that I have seen – Alexis Arguello was one, Floyd Mayweather certainly, Manny Pacquiao – but there has been nobody with the skills that Vasyl Lomachenko has.

You have fought a lot of amateurs – when you fight a fighter like Walters who sometimes swings for the fences, what typically has happened in those type fights?

LOMACHENKO: If we are talking about the amateurs – the punchers never got anywhere in their careers. Usually three rounds was not enough time to get ready for the fight. The punchers are professional boxers not amateur boxers.

How do you see this fight playing out?

I LOMACHENKO: I think it is going to be very, very hard for me in the first four rounds, then after that I will be trying to terminate the bout.

This is a big fight, but how do you see Lomachenko in the bigger fights in the larger arenas?

BOB ARUM: Lomachenko has a huge upside. This is the second world title in as many divisions in seven professional fights – that has never happened before, and he is going to win more world titles as he goes up in weight and there are going to be very interesting guys for him to fight. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that he and Manny [Pacquiao] could fight sometime next year. Lomachenko wants challenges and he is a tremendous talent. His upside is enormous and a lot of people are watching him — not just boxing fans — because he is an unbelievable talent. They see him on You Tube and on HBO and have said what an unbelievable talent he is.

Do you want to fight Manny Pacquiao?

LOMACHENKO: Yes, of course I would like to fight Pacquiao, but not in the next fight.

What makes this a can’t-miss fight?

BOB ARUM: They call Walters the Axe Man for a reason — he searches and destroys. He is a tremendous puncher and he is in with a technician who has enormous talent in boxing not only defensively but offensively, so this is a can’t-miss fight and I want the people to realize that not only do I believe that it will be a Fight of the Year candidate, I believe that if Vasyl Lomachenko is successful, he should be right up there for consideration for Fighter of the Year.

Do you feel like you may want to slow Lomachenko down a little bit?

BOB ARUM: From the first day I met him, when he sat down with me and we discussed his future, I was concerned because people were offering him large signing bonuses, he told me that he didn’t want a signing bonus; he wanted to earn his own money. All he wanted was challenges that I would present to him. That’s what I am going to do. He doesn’t want any gimmes – he wants every fight to be a challenge. So at 130-pounds, who is more of a challenge than Nicholas Walters? I am not going to slow him down. He knows his ability a lot more than I do. And you have to give his father credit – his father is probably the best trainer in boxing today and I say that without any question, because look what the father produced from the Ukrainian Olympic team in London. Oleksandr Usuyk who is now a cruiserweight champion, Alexandr Gvozdyk, a light heavyweight who you saw last week on the Ward-Kovalev pay-per-view, who is a future champion – they are all Ukrainians and they were all trained by Vasyl’s father. So he has a lot going for him.

How will you deal with the reach advantage that Walters has?

LOMACHENKO: Boxers always have an advantage over another, whether it is a longer reach or more weight or a taller guy. How I will use his reach advantage to my advantage, you will find out on Saturday.

What do you think when someone of Bob’s stature speaks so highly of you?

LOMACHENKO: It will give me another motivation because a lot of people may look at that or hear that and think that maybe it’s not true. When I hear that it gives me a lot of motivation to make me work harder in my training to prove that what Bob is saying. I don’t have the chance to make any mistakes. I have to prove that Bob is right.

NICHOLAS WALTERS

Do you think the layoff will affect you?

WALTERS: The layoff? I am in the motivation business, so the layoff is definitely part of the boxing business. As a fighter I have always been in the gym working out and everything so the layoff wouldn’t even bother me and I wouldn’t take the fight if I thought I wasn’t going to be ready for the fight. I don’t even think for a minute that I only want to please Nicholas. I want to please the fans and my country, both Panama and Jamaica and all of my fans in Mexico and all over the world. I am not just taking the fight for Nicholas. I am taking the fight for everybody and come Saturday I am going to be ready for the fight – just like all of the other fights.

How do you feel about taking on this fighter that is a two-division world champion in only seven pro fights and that everyone is saying is so great?

WALTERS: The achievement is good for him. And Bob knows what he is talking about since he has been in the business for 50 years. Even Muhammad Ali lost fights. I don’t think this is a different Lomachenko from the guy that lost to Salido – he is the same Lomachenko. They say a leopard cannot change his spots right? Since he did lose to Salido, he can be as technical all he wants, but I am in the hurt business – this is a gladiator sport and I fight all of my fights like that, I fight like a gladiator. He can come in with his technical fight on Saturday and I am going to be up for it and put on a helluva show on Saturday night.

You don’t see much development in Lomachenko and feel he is ripe for the taking with your power punching?

WALTERS: Each fight is different and I am not going to tell you that I am going to fight Lomachenko the same way that Salido fought him. Of course, only a fool doesn’t learn from his mistakes, doesn’t learn from his mistakes in the ring. He has been training and working out so I know he is a more complete fighter than his first fight. I am not even worried, so to speak, but I know that he has learned and is a better fighter from that loss. But it is still a blemish on his record that he lost. With that in mind he has tasted defeat and I have never tasted defeat. We have stayed undefeated and we are going to keep it that way this Saturday.

What would this victory mean to you and your career?

WALTERS: I don’t know. This fight for me is just as important as my last fight. Each fight I have I fight hard and I fight tough. In each fight for me I defend my undefeated record. Each fight for me I am defending my pride. This victory would be a big victory because we know that this guy is no easy fight. We are not saying that Lomachenko is an easy opponent. We know he is a top fighter and a tough fighter. We are just saying that this Saturday and this victory is going to put the Axe Man to where I want to be and hopefully next year I start making over $1 million per fight. That’s what we are aiming at. So we win Saturday then move on to other opponents.

In Closing…

WALTERS: I don’t have a lot to say, just that the Axe Man is going to show that he is the real Krusher on Saturday night. Not some softee, but the real Axe Man the real Krusher will be in the ring on Saturday night.

BOB ARUM: I am absolutely thrilled that this fight between Lomachenko and Walters will be my 2000th boxing event and will definitely be a candidate for Fight of the Year with two great fighters. The HBO telecast will begin at 10:35 p.m. ET / 10:30 p.m. PT. The Kovalev-Ward replay will also be part of the HBO telecast. That fight’s scoring was very controversial so if you haven’t seen it this is your chance. Then watch the Fight of the Year, I believe, between Lomachenko and Walters. There were only 60 tickets left this morning at The Cosmopolitan and it will probably be sold out by the end of today so the best way to see the fight, if you don’t have a ticket, is on HBO.

************************

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Tecate, the few remaining tickets to the Lomachenko vs. Walters world championship event, priced at $200, $150, $100, $75, and $50 (general admission), are available for purchase at www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/ or through Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 and www.ticketmaster.com/. Room / ticket packages are also available.

Both fighters will host Media Workouts on Tuesday at the Top Rank Gym (3041 Business Lane, Las Vegas, Nev. 89103). Walters will be at 12:30 p.m., followed by Lomachenko at 1:00 p.m. PT. One-on-one interviews will take place before each workout.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com, or www.hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtag #LomaWalters to join the conversation on Twitter.

ABOUT THE COSMOPOLITAN OF LAS VEGAS
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is a luxury casino and resort offering a decidedly different perspective from its commitment to integrating art into every experience to the world renowned Restaurant Collection and distinct entertainment venues. Located at the heart of The Strip, its unique vertical multi-tower design offers spectacular views of the vibrant city. The 3,005-room resort features oversized residential-style living spaces with expansive, one-of-a-kind private terraces. Luxurious amenities include a 100,000-square-foot-casino with the newly-added Race & Sports Book Powered by CG Technology and expanded high stakes gaming area, The Talon Club; Sahra Spa & Hammam and Violet Hour | Hair | Nails | Beauty; three unique pool experiences; Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub, a multi-level integrated indoor and outdoor nightclub; an intriguing mix of bars and lounges including The Chandelier, an iconic multi-level bar experience; 150,000 square feet of state-of-the-art convention and meeting space; 40,000-square-foot performance and event venue The Chelsea; and a modern supper club with live music and entertainment at Rose. Rabbit. Lie. An eclectic line-up of retailers include: AllSaints, CRSVR Sneaker Boutique, DNA2050, Jason of Beverly Hills, Molly Brown’s Swimwear, Rent the Runway, Retrospecs & Co, Skins 62 Cosmetics and STITCHED. Signature restaurants include: Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill by restaurateurs Bruce and Eric Bromberg; Estiatorio Milos, by international restaurateur Costas Spiliadis; Holsteins from Block 16 Hospitality; Jaleo and China Poblano restaurants by acclaimed Chef José Andrés; Scarpetta and D.O.C.G. by award-winning Chef Scott Conant; popular steakhouse STK from The ONE Group; Beauty & Essex from Chef Chris Santos and TAO Group; acclaimed Los Angeles eatery Eggslut by Chef Alvin Cailan; cold-pressed local juicery The Juice Standard; bustling culinary food hall Wicked Spoon; all-day dining concept The Henry; and Starbucks, which includes a one-of-a-kind art installation.
For more information visit: www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com
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LAS VEGAS, NEV. (November 16, 2016) — Bob Arum is about to hit another landmark in what has been a landmark year for the Brooklyn-born Hall of Fame promoter.

On March 29, Arum celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first event he ever promoted — the battle for the Heavyweight Championship of the World between Muhammad Ali and George Chuvalo. Next week, Saturday, November 26, at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Arum will present his 2,000th event — the World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior lightweight title fight between undefeated two-division world champion VASYL LOMACHENKO and undefeated former world champion NICHOLAS “Axe Man” WALTERS. It will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, beginning at 10:35 p.m. ET/PT. The following week, Arum will fly to New Zealand where he will celebrate his 85th birthday on December 8, and two days later sit ringside watching undefeated heavyweight contender Andy Ruiz attempt to become Mexico’s first heavyweight champion when he battles Joseph Parker for the vacant WBO title. Also on December 10, undefeated World Junior Welterweight Champion and top-rated pound-for-pound fighter TERENCE “Bud” CRAWFORD will make the first defense of his unified WBO / World Boxing Council (WBC) / Ring magazine 140-pound world titles when he rumbles with one-time world title challenger and current No. 1 contender JOHN MOLINA JR at CenturyLink Center Omaha. That fight will also be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing, beginning at 9:35 p.m. ET/PT.

“When I promoted my first fight my accountants were still using roman numerals,” said Arum. “It’s been quite an adventure.”

Here are a few of Arum’s observations from his first 50 years in boxing as previously reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

ARUM’S FAVORITE FIGHTERS

Longtime fight promoter Bob Arum has worked with thousands of fighters in his 50 years in the boxing business. Here are his top five fighters he has worked with:

1. Muhammad Ali. “He was a world figure. People loved him wherever he went. But he was also a great fighter.”
2. Manny Pacquiao. “His life story is amazing. He came from virtually nothing to captivate an entire country.”
3. Marvin Hagler. “He was the most loyal, standup guy I ever worked with. A tremendous fighter with great resolve.”
4. George Foreman. “He changed his persona and had such a big impact on our culture. He became the most loveable guy.”
5. Floyd Mayweather Jr. “He had extraordinary ability and he backed it up in the ring.”

Arum’s next five: Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran, Oscar De La Hoya and Alexis Arguello.

ARUM’S TOP FIVE PROMOTIONS

Bob Arum lists the top five promotions he was involved in:

1. Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Marvin Hagler, 1987, Caesars Palace. “It was the Yuppie (Leonard) vs. the Blue collar guy (Hagler.) It was a great fight that did extremely well.
2. Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns, 1985, Caesars Palace. “That was the first time we did a cross-country tour. We had two planes and made 26 stops. It took that fight to another level and by the time they got in the ring, they were so sick of each other they literally wanted to kill each other.”
3. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad, 1999, Mandalay Bay. “It was the first major Mexico vs. Puerto Rico fight, even though Oscar was American and from East LA. Don King had Trinidad and we had Oscar and there was a lot of back-and-forth between the two sides.”
4. Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II, 1974, Madison Square Garden. “Ali got his revenge for losing the first fight and I remember the two of them getting into it while being interviewed oin television by Howard Cosell. That helped sell the rematch.”
5. Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao, 2015, MGM Grand Garden. “We never had anything like it. The numbers were incredible, even though the fight wasn’t.”

Attached, please find 50 years of interesting stats on Arum and Top Rank, compiled by Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler, which includes Friday’s UniMás / Univision Deportes show in Kissimmee, and next week’s show at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas — No. 2000.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com, or www.hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtag #LomaWalters to join the conversation on Twitter.

For more information on The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, visit www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com.

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 17, 2016) — Tickets to the blockbuster fight between two-division world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist VASYL LOMACHENKO and undefeated former world featherweight champion NICHOLAS “Axe Man” WALTERS will go on sale This Wednesday! Oct. 19 at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT. Lomachenko and Walters will be battling for Lomachenko’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior lightweight title on Saturday, Nov. 26, at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. It will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 10:35 p.m. ET/PT.

Promoted by Top Rank®, tickets to the Lomachenko – Walters world championship event, priced at $200, $150, $100, $75, and $50 (general admission), will be available for purchase at www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/ or through Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 and www.ticketmaster.com/. Room / ticket packages will also available.

The greatest amateur boxer of his era and arguably of all time, two-time Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko (6-1, 4 KOs), of Odessa, became a two-division world champion just as he did with his first professional world title, he won world title No. 2 in a record least amount of fights — SEVEN! In his last fight, on June 11, he annihilated defending three-time WBO junior lightweight champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez via a cringe-worthy knockout punch in the fifth round . Lomachenko captured his first world title — the vacant WBO featherweight title — on June 21, 2014, winning a scintillating majority decision over the previously unbeaten Gary Russell Jr. It was Lomachenko’s third professional bout, tying him with Thailand’s Saensak Muangsurin for fewest fights to win a world title. Muangsurin won a junior welterweight title in 1975, also in his third professional fight Lomachenko first gained international renown by winning gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Games as a featherweight and a lightweight, respectively.

Walters (26-0-1, 21 KOs), from Montego Bay, Jamaica, has won 11 of his last 14 fights by stoppage. He captured the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight title on December 12, 2012, knocking out Daulis Presscott (26-1, 19 KOs) in the seventh round. He successfully defended the title three times during his three year reign — all by knockout — stopping Alberto Garza, former two-division world champion Vic Darchinyan and 2012 Fighter of the Year and four-division world champion Nonito Donaire in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, respectively

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com, or www.hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtag #LomaWalters to join the conversation on Twitter.

For more information on The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, visit www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com.

LONDON (29 September) – Super-featherweight king Vasyl Lomachenko’s sensational world title showdown against undefeated Nicholas Walters will be shown exclusively live on BoxNation on November 26th.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko will defend his WBO title in a thrilling clash against knockout artist and former featherweight champion Walters from The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

The fight has been in the pipeline for a while and is one of this year’s most eagerly anticipated contests, pitting two of boxing’s very best against each other to determine the undoubted number one at 130-pounds.

Both men are renowned for their hard-hitting with two-weight world champion Lomachenko, regarded as one of the sports finest technicians, looking to continue his meteoric rise by overcoming the formidable ‘Axe Man’ Walters who has stopped 21 of his 27 opponents.

‘The Channel of Champions’ BoxNation will be the only place to see all the action live, in a battle that has all the makings for a ‘Fight of the Year’ contest.

“Boxing fans will be able to spend their Thanksgiving holiday weekend feasting on the year’s most anticipated showdown,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. “Forget their weight class. With more than 3/4 of their victories coming by way of knockout, they punch and win like heavyweights! We know how the fight is going to end. The question is, which fighter will end it.”

“I want to thank HBO and Bob Arum for giving me this opportunity to test myself in the fight with the best. Walters you are next on my list.” said Lomachenko.

“I am very happy and excited about this upcoming bout between Lomachenko and Walters,” said Egis Klimas, Lomachenko’s manager. “Once again Vasyl proved he wants to fight the very best fighters in his weight division and I want everyone to understand when he says so, he means it.”

“Any fighter can be knocked out no matter who he is,” said Walters. “I like fighting the best and I like fighting against a great technical fighter like Lomachenko. Look at what happened when I fought a great technical fighter like Nonito Donaire. Lomachenko is great, he knows what he is doing in the ring. But I always look for a knockout against whomever I fight. If I can do it quick, I will. This is the best fight out there in boxing today. It will be the Fight of the Year.”

“This will be a tremendous contest between two elite boxers in their prime,” said Jim McMunn, BoxNation Managing Director. “We are delighted to be airing this fight exclusively live on BoxNation and have no doubt that subscribers will be in for a real treat when the pair lock horns on November 26th. It’s got all the makings to be something very special.”

BoxNation is available on Sky/Freeview/Virgin/TalkTalk/EE/Online & App for just £12 a month. Buy now at www.boxnation.com.

– ENDS –
About BoxNation

BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated boxing channel. From £12* per month with no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Mayweather vs Maidana, Saunders vs Eubank Jr and Khan vs Canelo.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (ios, Android, Amazon). BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

Available on selected internet-connected Freeview products only, subject to coverage. Visit freeview.co.uk/availability.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £8 registration fee for Sky TV customers

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.”

Luis Ortiz scored an impressive 7th round stoppage over Bryant Jennings in a Heavyweight bout at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.

Ortiz rocked Jennings with straight left in round one and once again in round three with a combination in round three.  Jennings showed tremendous resolve by landing some solid shots inside that seemed to throw Ortiz of his game.

In round seven, Ortiz landed a thudding left that sent Jennings down face first.  Jennings was able to continue but for not much loner as two more lefts sent him stumbling into the ropes and the fight was stopped at 2:41.

Ortiz, 239 lbs of Cuba is 24-0 with 21 knockouts.  Jennings, 229 1/2 lbs of Philadelphia is 19-2.

Former Featherweight champion, Nicholas Walters and Jason Sosa battled to a dubious 10-round majority draw

Walters focused on the body and landed some crisp shots inside.  Sosa was wobbled in round five from a short right on the inside.  Sosa showed heart but Walters was accurate on the inside and landed 113 more punches then Sosa.

Somehow Sosa won a card 96-94 while two cards read even at 95-95.

Walters, 129 1/2 lbs of Montigo Bay, JAM is 26-0-1.  Sosa, 130 lbs of Camden, NJ is 18-1-4.

Gabriel Rosado pounded out a 10-round unanimous decision over former world champion Joshua Clottey in a Middleweight bout.

Rosado, 158 lbs of Philadelphia, PA won by scores of 97-93 twice and 96-94 and is now 22-9. Clottey, 157 lbs of Bronx, NY is 39-5.

Former world champion, Yuriorkis Gamboa won a 10-round unanimous decision over Hylon Williams in a Lightweight bout.

Gamboa, 133 lbs of Miami, FL won by scores of 98-92 twice and 96-94 and is now 25-1. Williams, 133 lbs of Houston, TX is now 16-2-1.

Follow all the action as Luis Ortiz battles Bryant Jennings for the WBA Interim Heavyweight title.  The action begins at 10:15 PM ET / 7:15 PT with a Super Featherweight bout between former world champion Nicholas Walters and Jason Sosa

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Round 1 Ortiz working the body…Straight left hurts Jennings..Big left hurts Jennings again..Jennings wobbling..God body shot..

Round 2 Jennings lands a combination..right..Uppercut from Ortiz..Uppercut from Jennings..

Round 3  Big left hurts Jennings..Combination from Jennings…

Round 4 Ortiz lands a left…2 Uppercuts from Jennings

Round 5 hard uppercut from Ortiz

Round 6 Combination for Ortiz

Round 7 Body shots from Jennings..Straight right from Jennings..HUGE UPPERCUT AND DOWN GOES JENNINGS..BIG RIGHT AND JENNINGS STUMBLES INTO THE ROPES..ONE MORE SHOT AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1 Good left hook to body from Walters..Left to body..Hard body..left to body and right from Sosas..Right from Walters

Round 2 Hard left from Walters..Right..left to body..Uppercut..Uppercut..Sosa lands a right uppercut..Good body shot

Round 3 Walters lands a jab

Round 4 Walters lands an uppercut on the inside

Round 5 Hard right wobbles Sosa..2 rights and uppercut from Sosa..Hard body shot from Walters..

Round 6

Round 7 Hard body shot from Walters..Vicious left hook to the body

Round 8 Walters lands a right down the middle

Round 9 2 hard rights from Sosa..right on the inside..Walters lands a body shot..Hard right and left hook from Sosa

Round 10 Right lead from Walters…

96-94 Sosa, 95-95 on 2 cards….DRAW

Punches:  Walters: 281-622    Sosa: 168-873

VERONA, NY (December 18, 2015) — Undefeated former world featherweight champion NICHOLAS “Axe Man” WALTERS and once-defeated Top-10 contender JASON “El Canito” SOSA. will face off against each other in a 10-round junior lightweight rumble Tomorrow! Saturday, December 19. Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Peltz Boxing Promotions and Warriors Boxing Promotions, Walters vs. Sosa will open the HBO Boxing After Dark telecast, which will be televised live from Turning Stone Casino Resort, beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT. The telecast will also feature Bryant “By-By” Jennings vs. Luis “The Real King Kong” Ortiz in a 12-round heavyweight battle for the WBA interim Heavyweight title. That fight will be presented by Golden Boy Promotions, in association with Gary Shaw Productions.

Walters and Sosa boast a combined record of 44-1-3 (35 KOs) — a winning percentage of 92% — with 80% of their victories coming by way of knockout.

NICHOLAS WALTERS
“I’m a descendant of the gladiators. I come to fight.

“I’m not sure if the fight is going to go past four rounds. It depends if Sosa comes to fight. I’m sorry, but Sosa is not going do to me what I did to Nonito Donaire or Vic Darchinyan.

“I’m a lion! I don’t know if Sosa is a lion. People are expecting a big fight, and I’m going give them a big fight. The Axe Man is very dangerous. He’s always prepared for a war.

“When you don’t know much about a fighter, that’s dangerous. Sosa will find out. Nonito didn’t know much about me until I knocked him out.

“Next year, anything is possible. I’m looking to fight the big names fighters. Gamboa? Anything is possible. Vasyl Lomachenko is not looking in my direction. But I’m here. I’m ready to fight. I’m not hiding from nobody. I’m a true fighter. I believe if I’m going to be the best, I have to fight the best. I’m not even concerned about fighting at heavier weights. I’ve been sparring guys at 140 and 145 pounds.”

JASON SOSA

“I played basically every sport, from football to soccer, and used to work a day job in park services until two years ago.

“I first learned how to street fight growing up in the notoriously tough Camden, NJ. That was a plus.

“I’m very intelligent in the ring. I’ve got to give it to my guy — my father figure — Raul Rivas. He changed my whole boxing style. I believe after this fight, people will recognize Raul “Chino” Rivas as one of the top trainers.

“I’m the bigger, the stronger and the smarter guy. I’ve sparred taller, longer, heavier guys in training camp. We know what we’re expecting from Walters, and we’re ready for it.

“My prediction is: I’m going to go out there and focus. I feel that we are going to come out victorious.

“I’m an aggressive fighter, a smart fighter, a powerful fighter.”

“I have some advice for all the fight fans who don’t know me who will be tuning into HBO on Saturday night. Don’t blink!”

***************************************

Walters (26-0, 21 KOs), from Montego Bay, Jamaica, has won 11 of his last 13 fights by stoppage. He captured the vacant WBA featherweight title on December 12, 2012, knocking out Daulis Presscott (26-1, 19 KOs) in the seventh round. He successfully defended the title three times during his three year reign — all by knockout — stopping Alberto Garza, former two-division world champion Vic Darchinyan and 2012 Fighter of the Year and former four-division world champion Nonito Donaire in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, respectively. A former amateur standout who collected gold medals at the 2007 Pan American Games Qualifier III and the 2005 and 2007 Caribbean Championships, Walters is known for his expert boxing skills and movement and two-fisted punching power that are at a caliber of a much higher weight class. In his last fight, on June 13 at Madison Square Garden, Walters was forced to vacate the title when he failed to make the weight limit by one pound. However, he emerged victorious, winning a unanimous decision over the previously undefeated Top-10 contender Miguel Marriaga.

Sosa (18-1-3, 14 KOs), from Camden, NJ, enters this fight riding a four-year, 17-bout unbeaten streak which includes 13 consecutive knockout victories dating back to 2012! Many local fans, who flock to his fights, consider Sosa to be one of the best fighters to come out of Camden since Dwight Qawi. Sosa’s been a fan favorite since turning pro in 2009 because of his exciting and aggressive style, strong punching power and an average length of bouts of under four rounds. He is currently world rated No. 8 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and No. 13 by the WBO.

Host of the event, the Oneida Nation’s Turning Stone Resort Casino, continues to distinguish itself as a premier destination for blockbuster boxing matches. The December 19 card will mark Turning Stone Resort Casino’s 16th nationally televised boxing event in less than two years, cementing the resort as a mecca for knockout televised fights. Located in Upstate New York, the four-season destination resort offers world-class entertainment and gaming, award-winning accommodations, a diverse mix of restaurants, luxury spas and several nightlife options.

Professional media requesting credentials for the December 19 event must contact Kelly Abdo, Turning Stone Resort Casino Public Relations Manager at (315) 366-9291 or [email protected].

Remaining tickets, priced at $60, $35 and $25, plus applicable fees and taxes, may be purchased at the Turning Stone Resort Box Office, by calling (315) 361-7469, or online via www.ticketmaster.com.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com, www.hbo.com/boxing, www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.garyshawproductions.com and www.turningstone.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/trboxing, www.facebook.com/trboxeo, www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/Gary-Shaw-Productions, www.facebook.com/TurningStoneResort or www.facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/trboxing, www.twitter.com/trboxeo, www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/GaryShawBoxing, www.twitter.com/TurningStone or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtags #WaltersSosa #JenningsOrtiz to join the conversation on Twitter.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Top Rank’s December agenda has been about finding new stars, resurrecting a couple of old ones and creating business possibilities in 2016, the beginning of what could be the post-Manny Pacquiao era.

As of Thursday, the promotional company was still waiting to hear on whether Pacquiao will fight Terence Crawford or Timothy Bradley or some name we’ve yet to hear. The repeated postponements make you wonder whether the Filipino Congressman has some other running mate, — or alternate plan — in mind for what is believed to be his April farewell.

But, as it must, the business moves forward, especially at a time when the changing-of-the-guard is moving at a rapid rate. There is heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko’s loss to Tyson Fury. There are continuing assurances from those close to Floyd Mayweather Jr. that he is happily retired and has no desire to come back.

It’s a game looking to re-load.

Over the last month, Top Rank has strung together – week after week, night after night– reasons to be optimistic about the New Year.

First, there was unbeaten junior welterweight and 2012 Olympian Jose Ramirez in a gritty decision on Dec. 5.

Then, there was lightweight Felix Verdejo, Puerto Rico’s heir apparent to Miguel Cotto, in a definitive second-round stoppage on Dec.11 on a San Juan card that included former Fighter of the Year Nonito Donaire in tough, yet back in the 122-pound title mix with a rugged decision.

The following night in Tucson, two-time Mexican Olympian Oscar Valdez was back in his boyhood home with a dramatic third-round stoppage that stamped him as legitimate contender.

The fourth item in Top Rank’s run-up to next year is now in the dangerous hands of Nicholas Walters, who like Donaire is trying to re-capture the momentum he had in October 2014 after a powerful stoppage that sent Donaire’s career spinning into recession.

Walters’ task Saturday night in Verona, N.Y., on HBO After Dark (10:15 p.m./ET/PT) looms as the toughest against Jason Sosa at 130 pounds, four heavier than the featherweight mandatory he failed to make in relinquishing his title in June before beating Miguel Marriaga. Walters won a decision over Marriaga, but it was forgettable, so much so that he was too, despite an unbeaten record (26-0, 21 KOs).

“Looking to fight the big fights,’’ Walters said Thursday during a conference call.

He hopes for three or four of them in 2016, including perhaps one against Ukrainian prodigy Vasyl Lomachenko.

First, however, there is Sosa (18-1-3, 14 KOs), a Camden, N.J., fighter who remains a relative unknown despite a run of 17-straight victories, including 13 successive stoppages, since 2012. Sosa, who had only three amateur fights and lost two of them, appears to be a late bloomer. His relative anonymity in terms of international rankings and network appearances is among his greatest assets.

“Anytime you don’t know much about a fighter, that’s a dangerous fighter,’’ said Walters, a wise man.

The buzz is about Sosa’s power. At 27, it looks as if he has learned how to use it in every lethal way. That, perhaps, helps explain why 13 of his 14 stoppages have come over the tail end of 17-fight run during the last four years.

His promoter, Philadelphia Russell Peltz, believes that Walters has never felt a punch with the kind whack Sosa can deliver. Peltz also argues that Walters’ unbeaten record and world-class pedigree can be overrated.

“There are undefeated fighters on every street corner and that means they haven’t fought anybody,’’ Peltz said.

However, Walters, a smart and entertaining Jamaican, enters the ring Saturday understanding the stakes and determined to get fans talking about him again. He’s pursuing a big stoppage.

“Knockout of the Year,’’ he says.

Then, he says he can pursue opportunities at junior-lightweight (130) and featherweight (126).

“It’s not like I was at 128, or 129 the last time,’’ Walters said. “I was at 127. I can make 126. There are a lot of possibilities at 130. In 2016, anything is possible.’’

More so, it seems, than in any recent year

HBO Boxing wraps up an exhilarating year with a twin bill of action when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: BRYANT JENNINGS VS. LUIS ORTIZ AND NICHOLAS WALTERS VS. JASON SOSA is seen SATURDAY, DEC. 19 at 10:15 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates: Dec. 20 (9:30 a.m.) and 21 (12:10 a.m.)

HBO2 playdate: Dec. 22 (11:15 p.m.)

In the main event, Philadelphia’s Bryant Jennings (19-1, 10 KOs) takes on Luis Ortiz (23-0, 20 KOs), originally from Camaguey, Cuba, and now living in Miami, Fla., in a scheduled 12-round heavyweight fight.

Known for his power, athleticism and agility, Jennings suffered his only defeat at the hands of then-heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko last April. Ortiz will rely on his extensive Cuban and international amateur background as he looks to remain undefeated.

Kicking off the night, the co-main event features Nicholas Walters (26-0, 21 KOs) and Jason Sosa (18-1-3, 14 KOs) in a scheduled ten-round junior lightweight bout.

Rising star Walters, from Montego Bay, Jamaica, is also undefeated, while Sosa, of Camden, NJ, has won 14 straight fights. With a combined record of 44-1-3 and 35 KOs, the two fighters have a winning percentage of 92%, with knockout ratio of 80% in those victories.

Later that evening, HBO Latino presents an exclusive tripleheader of same-day action, slated to begin at 12:15 a.m. (ET/PT) or immediately following live boxing on HBO. Yunieski Gonzalez meets Vyacheslav Shabranskyy in a light heavyweight fight; Gabriel Rosado battles Joshua Clottey in the middleweight co-main event; and Cuban Olympic gold medalist Yuriorkis Gamboa, a former unified featherweight titleholder, goes up against Hylon Williams Jr. in a lightweight bout.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jonathan Crystal; director, Johnathan Evans.

LOS ANGELES (December 15) – Fighters featured on the December 19 HBO Boxing After Dark and HBO Latino shows at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York share their final thoughts on training camp as fight week kicks off. In the main event of the HBO Boxing After Dark telecast, former heavyweight world title contender Bryant “Bye – Bye” Jennings (19-1, 10 KOs) of Philadelphia, will face the heavy-handed Cuban heavyweight Luis “The Real King Kong” Ortiz (23-0, 20 KOs) in a 12-round matchup for the WBA Interim Heavyweight World Title. The co-main event of the night features former WBA Featherweight and Super Featherweight World Champion from Montego Bay, Jamaica’s Nicolas “Axe Man” Walters (26-0, 21 KOs) taking on Jason Sosa (18-1-3, 14 KOs) of Camden, New Jersey in a 10-round super featherweight fight. The HBO Boxing After Dark telecast will begin at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT.

In the HBO Latino Boxing (12:15 a.m. ET/PT; tape delayed) main event Yuneski Gonzalez (16-1, 12 KOs) of Del Rio, Cuba will face Los Angeles’ undefeated Vyacheslav “Lion Heart – Chigonsky” Shabranskyy (14-0, 12 KOs) in a fight scheduled for 10-rounds. The co-main event will feature an exciting 10-round middleweight slugfest as “King” Gabriel Rosado (21-9, 13 KOs) will fight the dangerous former IBF Welterweight World Champion Joshua “Grand Master” Clottey (39-5, 22 KOs). Opening the HBO Latino telecast will be former WBA and IBF Featherweight World Champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (24-1, 17 KOs) squaring off against Hylon Williams Jr. (16-1-1, 3 KOs) of Houston in a 10-round lightweight bout.

Off camera, rising light heavyweight prospect, D’Mitrius Ballard (10-0, 7 KOs) of Washington, D.C. will take on Brazilian seasoned fighter Fabiano “Pit Bull” Pena (11-3-1, 8 KOs) in a six to eight-round light heavyweight fight and opening the night Manati, Puerto Rico’s Jorge “Destroyer” Melendez (28-5-1, 26 KOs) and Steven Martinez (15-2, 12 KOs) of Bayamon, Puerto Rico will clash in a 10-round middleweight fight.

Below is what the fighters had to say about as their training camp comes to a close this week.

BRYANT “BYE BYE” JENNINGS, Former Heavyweight World Title Challenger:

“The weather is warm out here in Florida, and John David Jackson is doing a great job as my new trainer. He’s a man that knows the fight game being that he was a fighter himself, a former world champion to be exact. The little things he’s showing me are making a big difference. I was happy that my promoter Gary Shaw came out to visit and see the progress I have made. We’re out here doing it. I believe I’ve become a better fighter, and it will show come fight night.

“This is a big fight for the heavyweight division. The interim WBA World heavyweight title is on the line. The winner will move on to bigger and better things. Everyone says he has a lot of power but his opposition is suspect. He’s a big slugger and I’m a boxer that gives a lot of movement. I believe I’m the one with the better skills and better pro experience. I’m winning this fight.

“I think it’s great. The sport needs to keep its integrity. Ortiz is a good fighter but he’s already shown that he has some insecurities. When a fighter gets caught cheating while using steroids to get an edge says a lot about that person. He paid his dues and now it’s time to fight. With VADA testing installed for this fight, everyone will be on an even playing field.

“With Klitschko losing to Fury, the heavyweight division is wide open. There are a lot of hungry fighters out there ready to take charge and I’m one of them. I know I got what it takes to become a world champion. The heavyweight division is mine to be conquered.”

LUIS “THE REAL KING KONG” ORTIZ, WBA Interim Heavyweight World Champion:

“I am ready physically and mentally for this fight, and I am going to come out to destroy my opponent. I have not been able to show off my condition and preparation in my last few fights, and this is my opportunity to show the world that I am the best. I have been ready for a world championship fight for three years and am ready for to go 15 rounds if needed.

“This is the new era of the heavyweight division, and I am in the running to become the best in the world. I feel like I have the conditions to become a world champion; I have the power, speed and intelligence in the ring.

“Jennings will be a difficult fighter, but I am also a difficult fighter. I have been physically prepared for this fight for three years.”

NICHOLAS “AXE MAN” WALTERS, former WBA Featherweight and Super Featherweight World Champion:

“My focus is to be the smarter fighter in the ring, to focus, to fire off more combinations, to take control of the fight. We know that Sosa is a hard puncher and he comes to fight.

“This is an important fight for me because it is at 130 pounds, which is a step up for me.”
“Training the right way is the proper way to prepare for such an important fight like this. I know the difference in this fight is will be my speed in the ring.”

JASON SOSA, Super Featherweight Contender:

“I have been working extremely hard on speed and angles because we know that Walters is flat footed and I want to make sure I have an advantage with movement on fight night.

“We know that Walters is a tough fighter with an impressive record. He has beat Donair and Darchinyan which are both strong opponents. But we also believe that we are the bigger fighter being that this is his first fight at 130. He has never felt power like mine and I believe that will be my biggest advantage on Dec. 19.

“Winning this fight would mean everything that we have been working on for the past five years is starting to pay off and will put me in a good position for a World Title next year.”

YUNIESKI GONZALEZ, Light Heavyweight Contender:

“Every aspect of my training has been elevated to be able to make a great impression. Shabranskyy applies basic combinations and I am a fighter that is more complex and will bring that advantage with me on fight night.

“A victory on Dec. 19 will keep me on the right track as I climb to the top of the mountain and establish myself as an elite fighter in the light heavyweight division.

“I have focused on turning my punches over to maximize my power. I’m not going to give up too much information, but the world will see on Dec. 19.”

VYACHESLAV “LION HEART – CHINGONSKY” SHABRANSKYY, Light Heavyweight Contender:

“The primary focus of this training camp has been to make sure my power and conditioning are the best they can become Dec. 19. I will finish camp knowing that I’m in the best shape ever.

“Gonzales is an aggressive come forward fighter. He’s not the typical Cuban boxer, he is more of a ‘banger’ come forward fighter which isn’t typical of Cuban fighters and I have made sure to prepare for that.

“This fight, without question is the biggest fight of my career so far and is step closer to getting a shot at a world title. I’m a smarter fighter now. My team and I have a game plan in place, if I stick to that I believe the fight will be in my favor.

“With every camp there is growth. Everyday I come into the gym the goal is to get better, in every single aspect- physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When there is a well-rounded growth it becomes easier to focus and devote myself to training, to be more willing to learn and to be taught.”

“KING” GABRIEL ROSADO, Former Middleweight World Title Contender:

“My primary focus is to do everything Fernando tells me to do. I believe in his information and I’m confident that it will make me a better fighter.

“This fight means a new beginning; it’s the second chapter of my career, and I believe it’s truly my time to shine. I know that Clottey is a defensive-minded fighter and will be looking to counter. But, I believe that I have the advantage. I’m younger, faster, stronger, and I believe my ring IQ is better.

“I’ve learned not to rush things, timing is everything. The focus and discipline has to be 100 percent. I believe that will show Dec. 19.”

JOSHUA “GRAND MASTER” CLOTTEY, Former IBF Welterweight World Champion:

“This is another that and I approach it like all my other fights: I train hard, eat correctly, get my rest properly and win.

“I know Gabe is very tough and always comes to fight so I expect a hard fight from him. I just will need to stay focused and I do what I need to in order to win.

“I want to be a world champion again, and I believe my experience will help me be one again and know I can do that by winning this fight.”

D’MITRUS BALLARD, Light Heavyweight Prospect:

“My primary focus going into this fight has been to become a better fighter, a more complete boxer. I want to make sure that I show all of my talents, experience and growth in the ring. The focus, the intensity of my training has been stepped up, my entire camp has stepped it up and we are ready.

“Winning this fight and advancing my record to 11-0 just means I’m one step closer to the goal a World Championships and putting people on notice that I am a threat in the light heavyweight division.”

YURIORKIS GAMBOA, Former WBA and IBF Featherweight World Champion:

“My primary focus for every fight is to get in the ring, get the job done in a way that I perform my best as a fighter, and the people paying for tickets go home happy with what they went to see. However for this fight I added another layer to that. I focus on proving to everyone that I still have what it takes to make it to the top.

“Winning means a lot. But the real pudding in the cake is winning this fight the way I know I can win it. Putting up a show for the people and getting the ‘W’ would mean the world to me. I am at a stage in my career that I need to fight as often as I can. I have to win but I also have to put on a good show to bring more and more people in to watch me fight.

“I think my experiences as a fighter are the only advantage I bring to this fight. Other than that, we are two hungry men with two arms waiting for this opportunity to shine.

“I learned that boxing is a lot tougher outside of the ring than inside. I learned that we are not meant to be boxing forever and have to take advantage of every opportunity in front of us as if it were the last one. I am about to put that to use.”

HYLON “KID COSMO” WILLIAMS, Lightweight Contender:

“This training camp my main focus was to put myself in a great state of mind and grind hard as I could stress free. I know my opponents a veteran fighter that’s had a decorated career and he’s been on my boxing radar since 2008 when I became a professional fighter.

“Winning this would be the door opener to the title shot I’ve always dreamed about and of course it’ll not only put a sock in people’s mouth but it’ll open the eyes to all my critics and have them see me in a new light.

“My youth and knowledge of the fight game will carry me through this fight. Having the heart to take on a former world champion shows I have the heart of a lion to protect my record and not duck anyone.”

Tickets for the Dec. 19 HBO Boxing After Dark and HBO Latino Boxing event start at $25, $35 and $60 for ringside seats plus applicable fees and are available at the Turning Stone Resort Box Office by calling 315-361-7469 or online at Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com).

Jennings vs. Ortiz is a 12-round heavyweight bout fight for the WBA Interim Heavyweight Title presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Gary Shaw Productions and is sponsored by Corona, Mexico – Live It to Belive It! and Carmelita Chorizo. Walters vs. Sosa is a 10-round junior lightweight bout presented by Top Rank in association with Peltz Boxing Promotions and Warriors Boxing Promotions. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. ET and first fight begins at 6:05 p.m. ET, and the HBO Boxing After Dark telecast begins live at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT.

Gonzalez vs. Shabranskyy, is a 10-round light heavyweight bout presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Star Boxing. The HBO Latino Boxing telecast begins at 12:15 a.m. ET/PT (tape delay).

Host of the event, the Oneida Nation’s Turning Stone Resort Casino continues to distinguish itself as a premier destination for blockbuster boxing matches. The December 19 fight will mark Turning Stone Resort Casino’s 16th nationally-televised boxing event in three years, cementing the resort as a mecca for knockout televised fights. Located in Upstate New York, the destination resort offers world-class entertainment and gaming, award-winning accommodations, a diverse mix of restaurants, two luxury spas and several nightlife options.
Professional media requesting credentials for the December 19 fight must contact Kelly Abdo, Turning Stone Resort Casino Public Relations Manager at (315) 366.9291 or [email protected].

For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.grayshawproductions.com, www.toprank.com, www.hbo.com/boxing, www.starboxing.com and www.turningstone.com. Follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @GaryShawBoxing, @TRboxing, @StarBoxing, @HBOBoxing, @TurningStone and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/Gary-Shaw-Productions-134758615997/, www.facebook.com/trboxing, www.facebook.com/StarBoxing, www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing or www.facebook.com/TurningStoneResort. Visit us on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @StarBoxing, @TurningStone. Follow the conversation by using #JenningsOrtiz and #WaltersSosa.

VERONA, NY (November 9, 2015) — Undefeated former World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight world champion NICHOLAS “Axe Man” WALTERS returns to the ring to take on granite-fisted Top-10 contender JASON “El Canito” SOSA in a 10-round junior lightweight rumble. Walters vs. Sosa will take place on Saturday, December 19, at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY. Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Peltz Boxing Promotions and Warriors Boxing Promotions, Walters vs. Sosa will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark, beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. ET. The telecast will also feature Bryant “By-By” Jennings vs. Luis “The Real King Kong” Ortiz in a 12-round heavyweight battle for the WBA interim Heavyweight title. That fight will be presented by Golden Boy Promotions, in association with Gary Shaw Productions.

Walters and Sosa boast a combined record of 44-1-3 (35 KOs) — a winning percentage of 92% — with 80% of their victories coming by way of knockout.

“I am training hard in Panama. I know how important this fight is and I will be in optimum physical condition,” said Walters. “My team has been studying video of my opponent Sosa. I cannot wait to leave Panama, get into Verona, New York and get inside the ring. Boxing is my passion.”

“First, I would like to thank God for all that he has done for me in my life. I also would like to thank Russell Peltz, Top Rank and HBO,” said Sosa. “I would also like to thank Nicholas Walters for giving me the opportunity to fight on December 19th. He is a very strong fighter and the toughest opponent that I have faced. But I am up for the challenge. I have a great team and they are getting me in the best shape of my life and making sure that I am mentally and physically ready to come away with the win. I am sure we are both ready for war and fans are not going to want to miss this.”

“I believe this will be the final Fight of the Year candidate for 2015,” said Carl Moretti, Vice President of Top Rank. “The making of this fight is the product of the right decision made at the right time by all the right people.”

Walters (26-0, 21 KOs), from Montego Bay, Jamaica, has won 11 of his last 13 fights by stoppage. He captured the vacant WBA featherweight title on December 12, 2012, knocking out Daulis Presscott (26-1, 19 KOs) in the seventh round. He successfully defended the title three times during his three year reign — all by knockout — stopping Alberto Garza, former two-division world champion Vic Darchinyan and 2012 Fighter of the Year and former four-division world champion Nonito Donaire in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, respectively. A former amateur standout who collected gold medals at the 2007 Pan American Games Qualifier III and the 2005 and 2007 Caribbean Championships, Walters is known for his expert boxing skills and movement and two-fisted punching power that are at a caliber of a much higher weight class. In his last fight, on June 13 at Madison Square Garden, Walters was forced to vacate the title when he failed to make the weight limit by one pound. However, he emerged victorious, winning a unanimous decision over the previously undefeated Top-10 contender Miguel Marriaga.

Sosa (18-1-3, 14 KOs), from Camden, NJ, enters this fight riding a four-year, 17-bout unbeaten streak which includes 13 consecutive knockout victories dating back to 2012! Many local fans, who flock to his fights, consider Sosa to be one of the best fighters to come out of Camden since Dwight Qawi. Sosa’s been a fan favorite since turning pro in 2009 because of his exciting and aggressive style, strong punching power and an average length of bouts of under four rounds. He is currently world rated No. 8 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and No. 13 by the WBO.

Host of the event, the Oneida Nation’s Turning Stone Resort Casino, continues to distinguish itself as a premier destination for blockbuster boxing matches. The December 19 card will mark Turning Stone Resort Casino’s 16th nationally televised boxing event in less than two years, cementing the resort as a mecca for knockout televised fights. Located in Upstate New York, the four-season destination resort offers world-class entertainment and gaming, award-winning accommodations, a diverse mix of restaurants, luxury spas and several nightlife options.

Professional media requesting credentials for then December 19 event must contact Kelly Abdo, Turning Stone Resort Casino Public Relations Manager at (315) 366-9291 or [email protected].

Tickets will go on sale in early November. Additional ticket information will be announced soon.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com, www.hbo.com/boxing, www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.garyshawproductions.com and www.turningstone.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/trboxing, www.facebook.com/trboxeo, www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/Gary-Shaw-Productions, www.facebook.com/TurningStoneResort or www.facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/trboxing, www.twitter.com/trboxeo, www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/GaryShawBoxing, www.twitter.com/TurningStone or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtags #WaltersSosa #JenningsOrtiz to join the conversation on Twitter.

2 fights have been added to the December 19 HBO card at the Turning Stone Resort Casino and will be shown on HBO Latino prior to the Boxing After Dark Card that will feature Luis Ortiz taking on Bryant Jennings and Nicholas Walters battling Jason Sosa according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

Gabriel Rosado will take on former Welterweight champion Joshua Clottey while Yunieski Gonzalez will take on Vyacheslav Shabranskyy in a Light Heavyweight bout.

“We worked hard to put this card together and we’re very happy with it,” Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN.com. “Four really good fights on one card. It will be a great night to end the year with a bang.”

“Clottey is going up a little bit in weight and Rosado is going down a little bit in weight,” De La Hoya said. “Besides it being a good fight, I think the winner will put himself back in line for an even bigger fight with any of the top junior middleweights or middleweights.”

“Gonzalez and Pascal was a great fight and we saw what Gonzalez could do, so we know we’re throwing Shabranskyy into the fire. But the winner will be knocking on the door to fight the best light heavyweights,” De La Hoya said. “We promote Shabranskyy and, of course, I’m rooting for my guy, but this is a 50-50 fight.”

“It was pleasant to work with Joe and we’re looking forward to doing lots more business with him in the future,” De La Hoya said.

“I like the fights for my guys and I like the card that it’s on,” he said. “It’s a high-profile card and I have high hopes for Yunieski Gonzalez coming off the last fight because I thought he beat Pascal. A lot of people thought he beat Pascal.

“For Joshua, it will be a little higher weight than usual but I think it’s the kind of card and kind of higher-profile fight that can put him in position to be where he has been — in world title contention.”

By Bart Barry–

Saturday in Madison Square Garden Theater, the very place Filipino Nonito Donaire’s candidacy for HBO Fighter of the New Century was subverted 3 1/2 years back by a pesky South American, Jamaican featherweight+1 Nicholas “Axe Man” Walters was unable to stretch Colombian featherweight Miguel Marriaga, much to the theater’s icy chagrin. Walters won a unanimous decision, and neither man stopped fighting or so much as clinched for nearly the full 36-minute duration, but it was not enough action, coming in the form of a 127-pound Jamaican and a Colombian featherweight, evidently, to prod New Yorkers to sustained applause.

Here’s how it went Nov. 9, 2013: Corpus Christi, Texas, was balmy and surprisingly humid for the season, American Bank Center was a dump – there was no WiFi, and the crowd lacked spirit – press row was the sort of discombobulated jumble a publicity outfit alone could conjure, and my marriage was in freefall. There were reasons aplenty for distraction, if not outright anxiety, and yet.

One begins as a boxing writer squinting at every fight, interrogating every match for its historical import and metaphorical capacity for yielding capacious metaphors – every four-rounder comprising a tiny chance at an immortality-manifesting phrase like “I saw him when he was fighting nobodies in empty arenas.” The more one sits ringside, the more his attention wanes, and something like guilt replaces the will to examine fighters’ footwork from yesteryear’s fights. Somewhere round one’s 60th fight card, though, a nearly enlightened state happens: I’m going to enjoy the undercard however I wish – watching the scorekeeper in the silly striped shirt, fantasizing about a ringcard girl, chatting with a pal I’ve not seen since last year, texting with my mother, googling the attendance record of the venue; whatever brings joy – and if something sensational happens, it will hit me with concussive force enough I’ll not be able to miss it even if I so wish.

That was Nicholas Walters. On a card that boasted Alex Saucedo, Vic Darchinyan, Mikey Garcia, Nonito Donaire and other less-talented but more-touted participants, the Jamaican featherweight happened with a concussive force too great to miss; in his U.S. debut, against Mexican Alberto Garza, Walters radiated with a violence of intention and act uncommon even among prizefighters. His form was rough, his punches were wild, but for simple force and desire, Walters was unmatchable that night.

I’m biased about Walters, then, and I could not care less if it offends.

He missed weight Friday, and it hurt. Part of the appeal of a Walters, like an Antonio Margarito before him, is the size advantage he brings to confrontations – and that appeal is immediately nullified by unfairness if he does not find a way, whatever way, to touch the contracted weight for at least a moment or two before bounding three or four weight classes upwards in 24 hours. Saturday Walters stood across from a career featherweight in Marriaga, a man who has fought nothing but 126 pounders for six years, and Walters looked enormous.

Walters is too big to be a featherweight, unless he returns to fighting thrice annually, and chews solely ice chips four weeks every year, and that is a real problem because Walters’ technique is a passport-snatching type, one that will not allow his power to travel to other weightclasses, and without the power to terrorize his opponents, Walters has very, very little.

His reflexes are about average, which might not be an issue except for his reliance on them; Walters thinks he is much quicker than he actually is, and a lot of this autoöverestimation comes from amateur experiences enough to anticipate the nature of others’ attacks, his parries triggered by anticipation more than reaction – particularly evident and perilous in round 1 Saturday, when Walters repeatedly sent his right guard out to defend Marriaga’s jab even before the Colombian knew he would throw it.

Walters straightens noticeably when he throws, making the target of his head blink and rise like a cartoon thought bubble with an idea, and despite his physical disadvantages Marriaga saw this and exploited it several times in the opening half of the fight. Walters’ defense is quite poor, too. He regularly employs the shell tactic of lowering his lead hand, and almost as regularly neglects to tuck his chin fully behind his lead shoulder; Walters’ defense is not so much a shell as an invitation.

What makes all this work, though, is the Axe Man righthand Walter wields. It is offense-as-defense in the very best sense: Before an opponent commits to a combination, he asks – and in Marriaga’s case, noticeably asks – “What if this does not knock that guy stiff?” The force of Walters’ overhand right is enough to alter others’ offensive calculations, which very nearly fits a workable definition for great defense.

No featherweight should be hit with Walters’ righthand, not Marriaga, not Vasyl Lomachenko, not God shrunken in a 126-pound form. The consequence of Walters’ righthand removed Marriaga’s desire to throw punches Saturday; yes, Walters’ body blows reduced the force of Marriaga’s punches, but it was the possibility of getting spearchiseled by that righthand that kept Marriaga from even wanting to bother.

No prizefight is gentle, but Saturday’s affair – while conclusively better than the New York crowd opined – was not withering enough to entitle Walters another 2/3-year rest. If he takes a couple weeks off, but not a month, then heads into camp for a Lomachenko match, there’s reason to think he can distill himself to 126 one last time. Walters-Lomachenko is the sort of palate-cleansing affair our beloved sport sorely needs in 2015.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

NEW YORK–Nicholas Walters won a 12-round unanimous decision over Miguel Marriaga in a Featherweight bout at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

The bout was to be contested for Walters WBA championship but he was stripped of the title on Friday as he checked in one pound over the Featherweight limit at Friday’s weigh in. Marriaga was eligible to win the title.

In round four, Marriaga landed three hard left hooks that got Walters attention. the action started to pick up in round five as Walters opened the frame with a combination. Marriaga fought back with some solid action of his own.

In round eight, Walters landed a chopping right to the head that stunned Marriaga. In round nine, Walters began to up the pace as he swiftly jabbed his way in and threw some good right hands and mixed in lefts to the body. At the end of the round, Walters landed a perfect right hand counter that sent Marriaga to the canvas. Marriaga made one final push in the final stanza as he landed a solid right that drove Walters back but it was too little too late for Marriaga

Walters, 127 lbs of Montego Bay, JAM won by scores of 118-109, 117-110 and 119-108 and is now 26-0. Marriaga, 125.2 lbs of Arjorna, COL is now 20-1.

“”fter two weeks I will decide if I will move up to 130.Whoever is the best is who I want to fight. I want to fight the best.Even though I couldn’t make the 126 I wanted to come here and give them a good show and that’s what I did. I hurt him a few times but it was late in the rounds.Amatuers and the pros are two different thigs. You can’t bring the amateurs to the pros. I am a lot more organized than I was in the amateurs.The crowd is used to people knocking down people. I have not fought in six months. He was a tough guy. I hurt him. I did hurt him. Some guys would go down but he is tough and he stayed up.In the last round I hurt him too, with a body shot. I was trying to get him out but I just couldn’t get him.” said Walters

“I got tired toward the end He is very strong. I felt like i was fighting a welterweight. I tried my best but he was just too good. he has got better since the last time we fought, ” Said Marriaga

Felix Verdejo was impressive as he scored two knockdowns en route to a 10-round unanimous decision over Ivan Najera in a Lightweight bout.

In round two, Najera tried to make the fight but Verdejo opened up with some ripping combinations in the corner. In round three, Verdejo continued to land power shots to the head of Najera. In round four, it was more toe to toe action with the quicker Verdejo landed some perfect shots to the face but Najera not only took them but tried to fight back. Finally in round five, Verdejo was able to put the strong chinned Najera on the canvas with a perfect left hook. Verdejo went in for the finish but Najera was able to withstand a huge barrage of punches on the ropes.

At the end of round seven, Verdejo landed a perfect hook that sent Najera down for a second time. In round ten, Verdejo landed one booming right from the southpaw stance that drew a large reaction from the Pro-Verdejo crowd at the Theater.

Verdejo, 133 lbs of San Juan, PR won by scores of 100-88 twice and 99-89 and is now 18-0. Najera, 131.4 lbs of San Antonio, TX is now 16-1.

Verdejo landed 194-487 punches while Najera was 101-333.

Roy Jones – “Verdejo threw evrey kind of punch you could think of.”

Harold 100 – 88

How does 18-0 sounds?
Great, Im happy with the work we did tonight, I brought happiness to my Country and that its what I wanted to do.

You fought a warrior
Yes we knew he was a tuff opponent , with a lot of experience and we knew it was going to be tuff.

What went to your mind when you knock him and he would come back up?
I was relax, and I was concentrated in the fight, I was trying to hit him to see if it I could end it but , we had to go the long distance, but we did a good job.

How was it to hear you name and Puerto Rico at MSG/
I was awesome , I’m happy with the Puerto Ricans fans , Im proud to be Puerto Rican

You are being compare to Tito Trinidad
Its an honor to be compare with a star like Tito , someone who gave so much happiness to my Country , I will continue to work hard to get new goals

Whats next?
We have to see how my hand its doing , but we will continue to work hard for the future

Hand?
It was not 100 % but it was efficient
Yes that’s part of my job but we are happy with the work with did

Message for fans
Continue to support me, you will have Felix for a long time
Seanie Monaghan scored a 9th round stoppage over Fulgencio Zuniga in a scheduled 10-round Light Heavyweight bout.

In round two, they had a furious exchange with Monaghan getting the better of the action. Monaghan controlled the bout as he landed a power shots but Zuniga kept coming forward. Finally in round nine, the activity got to Zuniga wilted and Monaghan landed a punch to the back for good measure as Zuniga fell to the ground. The fight was then halted at 2:09 of round nine.

Monagahan, 175.8 lbs of Long Beach, NY is now 25-0 with 16 knockouts. Zuniga, 174.8 lbs of Padilla, COL is now 27-11-1.

George Arias scored a 2nd round stoppage over Eric Cason in a scheduled 4-round Heavyweight bout.

Arias scored a knockdown in round two and the fight was stopped after a follow up barrage.

Arias, 227.2 lbs of Bronx, NY is now 4-0 with 3 knockouts. Cason, 198.2 lbs of Davenport, IA is now 2-4.

Christopher Diaz win a 6-round unanimous decision over Marcello Gallardo in a Featherweight bout.

Diaz, 127 lbs of Baranquilla, PR won by scores of 59-55 and 58-56 twice and is now 11-0. Gallardo, 126.4 lbs of Renton, WA. is mow 5-3-2.

Jason Sosa scored his 11th consecutive stoppage as he took out Santiago Bustos in round five of a scheduled 8-round Lightweight bout

In round two, Sosa pounded Bustos all over the ring with thudding shots with both hands.

In round five, Sosa landed a hard right that sent Bustos to the ropes. He then landed a blistering left and an uppercut that sent Bustos to a knee. Bustos got to his feet only to eat about five more shots that sent him to the canvas. he got to his feet but the fight was called at 2:20

Sosa, 130.8 of Camden, NJ is now 16-1-3 with 12 knockouts/ Bustos, 129.8 lbs of Palma de Mallorca, SPA is 7-7-1.

In the opening bout, Mike Reed remained undefeated by pounding out an 8-round unanimous decision over Luis Gonzalez in a Super Lightweight bout.

Reed, 140.2 lbs of Waldorf, MD won by shutout scores of 80-73 and 80-72 twice and is now 15-0. Gonzalez, 140.2 lbs of San Juan, PR is now 11-2-1.

LONDON (12 June) – Thrilling featherweight world champion Nicholas ‘Axe Man’ Walters says he doesn’t recall losing to Columbian hard-hitter Miguel Marriaga as an amateur.

The undefeated pair do battle this Saturday night, live and exclusive on BoxNation, with Jamaican sensation Walters putting his WBA crown on the line at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York.

29-year-old Walters burst onto the scene last year with an emphatic sixth round stoppage over 2012 Fighter of the Year Nonito Donaire, seeing his record go to 25-0 with 21 wins coming from knockout.

However, Walters has tasted defeat as an amateur that coming against the man he faces this weekend, something which he doesn’t remember too well.

“Marriaga may have beaten me in the amateurs but I do not remember it. Besides, those fights are four rounds. On Saturday we will be fighting 12 rounds,” said Walters.

“He may be bringing his ‘A Game’ but I am bringing my ‘A-Plus Game’. I have trained for a knockout victory. I am going to destroy him,” he said. The

Montego Bay banger is also open to taking on any challengers, with a unification bout with WBO champion Lomachenko having been mooted this week, as Walters first looks forward to fighting at the legendary ‘Mecca of Boxing’.

“I am overwhelmed to be fighting at Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of Boxing, because so many of boxing’s great champions have fought here. It is hallowed ground. It is my honour and I want to give my best performance there.

“To be great – to be known as the best – you have to beat the best and I am ready to take on all champions in my division and beyond,”

Walters said. Big-punching Marriaga, known as ‘The Scorpion’ due to his sting, has amassed an impressive 20 wins and no losses with 18 coming by way of knockout.

He has laughed off Walters suggestion that he has forgot about his loss to him and is convinced he will produce the same result now as a professional.

“Of course Walters doesn’t remember me beating him for a spot on the Olympic team – because he lost! He’s not going to remember this Saturday for the same reason,” said Marriaga.

“I have the strength and the intelligence to beat him and I will use my strength and intelligence. After I beat Walters again on Saturday I look forward to unifying the titles in my next fight,” he said.

This Saturday’s card also sees future superstar Felix Verdejo in action as he takes on undefeated Ivan Najera in a light-welterweight contest.

The bill is guaranteed to produce fireworks, with the four undefeated fighters boasting a perfect combined record of 78-0 (60 KOs), which includes a victory by knockout ratio of 77%.

Puerto Rican hotshot Verdejo, with a record of 17-0 (11 KOs), will be doing battle during the Puerto Rican Day Parade Weekend but is aware that 22-year-old Najera represents his hardest test to date.

“It is an honour to be fighting on Puerto Rican Day Parade Weekend in boxing’s most historic building, Madison Square Garden. I have dreamed of doing this for so long.

“And then on Sunday I will be riding on a float in the parade. But first I need to prove myself worthy of these honours,” said Verdejo.

“Najera is my toughest test as a professional and I have worked very hard in training camp. I am prepared to go mano a mano on Saturday night. I will be fighting not just for myself but for the pride of Puerto Ricans everywhere,” he said.

Najera, though, is confident of springing the upset and tearing up the script.

“I am ready for my moment – my date with destiny. I am here to do what I always do – to spoil the party. I have sacrificed so much to be ready for Saturday night but I will be dining out on this victory for years to come.

“June 13 will be remembered as Ivan Najera’s ‘Coming Out Party!’,” he said.

Walters vs Marriaga is live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky437/490HD, Virgin 525, TalkTalk 415) this Saturday night. Visit boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-
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