Unbeaten Jamaican “Axe Man,” Nicholas Walters, will be returning to the ring against a TBA opponent on December 12th, his promoter Bob Arum has revealed via ESPN.com.
The brakes were seemingly put on Walters’ sharp rise up the boxing ladder when he failed to make the 126 lb limit for his last fight, against Miguel Marriaga back in June, dropping his WBA (super) strap on the scales in the process, and now, as many thought he would, Arum has confirmed that a move to 130 lb is the most likely scenario for his fighter.
“The main thing is we want to get (Walters) back in there and see what he can do at junior lightweight,” Arum said regarding the return.
The news scraps any plans for a mooted unification with the likes of Vasyl Lomachenko, a fellow Top Rank fighter, given that the Ukrainian former amateur standout is purportedly only interested in unification fights at 126, although has been calling out oft-avoided WBA (sup) 122 lb champion, Guillermo Rigondeaux to no avail thus far.
Walters won the regular WBA strap back in Jamaica in 2012, before defending twice, and then upgrading it almost a year ago on HBO, by defeating multi-weight champ Nonito Donaire inside 6 rounds, although the ensuing Marriaga fight did little to whet the appetites of those seeking similar fireworks, as a weight drained Walters punched his way to a comfortable decision victory.
The fight in December will not be on a Top Rank show, either, although Arum declined to elaborate further. One thing he did do was rule OUT a possible bout with exciting Cuban, Yuriorkis Gamboa, whom is promoted by rapper 50 Cent’s bankrupt SMS outfit, quashing recent speculation.
“I know a fight with Gamboa is not happening,” Arum added, so at the moment it really is a case of ‘watch this space,’ regarding further details.
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