On Saturday night in the fight capital of the world, arguably the greatest amateur boxer that has ever lived will continue his professional boxing voyage live on HBO. Vasyl Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who went a reported 396-1 in the amateur ranks, will take on power-punching Nicholas Walters in what could be one of the best fights to close out 2016 (current odds).
“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,” Lomachenko said in a conference call earlier in the week. “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. 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.”
Walters (26-0-1, 21 KOs) hasn’t fought in nearly a year and though the Jamaican has captured the WBA featherweight title and defended it four times against top-level opposition – he knocked out both Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan – many people are picking against him. The long layoff and his sometimes reckless style figure to play into Lomachenko’s masterful movement, but “Axe Man” scoffs at the notion.
“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,” Walters said on the same conference call. “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.”
Walters, however, isn’t as high on his upcoming opponent as the rest of the boxing world and points out that he can be and has been beaten. But the Montego bay brawler with lethal fists wouldn’t elaborate on a gameplan.
“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,” Walters remarked. “Of course, only a fool 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.”
With both men primed for action on Saturday, they both cleared the final hurdle on Friday as they made weight at the official pre-fight weigh-ins. Walters was the first to the scale and he came in on point, clocking in at 129.5 pounds. Lomachenko, meanwhile, tipped the scale at 130 pounds, giving their highly-anticipated showdown the green light.
HBO will televise the action live from within the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas 10:35 p.m. ET/7:35 p.m. PT.
HBO Boxing Weigh-in Results:
Vasyl Lomachenko (130) vs. Nicholas Walter (129.5)Konstantin Ponomarev (148.5) vs. Silverio Ortiz (148.5)
Fernando Carcamo (146.5) vs. Juan Ruiz (146.75)
Maxim Dadashev (140.2) vs. Efrain Cruz (140.2)
Trevor McCumby (172.25) vs. Donovan George (175)