by David P. Greisman
Featherweight titleholder Vasyl Lomachenko was ringside with his manager, Egis Klimas, when Nicholas Walters scored an impressive stoppage over Nonito Donaire and picked up a belt of his own at 126.
Lomachenko wants a bout with Walters, and he could end up getting it.
“Vasyl asked for that fight. He wants that fight, and Bob Arum said we could fight him sometime in the summer,” Klimas told BoxingScene.com on Nov. 7.
The result of Walters-Donaire wasn’t a surprise to them.
“That’s what we were waiting for,” Klimas said. “Both of us was thinking about he [Walters] is going to win, as much as I like Donaire, but this is a sport.
“Yeah, he can punch,” Klimas said of Walters. “He can punch.”
Bob Arum of Top Rank has spoken about holding an unofficial tournament among his featherweights, a stable that includes Donaire, Walters, Lomachenko and titleholder Evgeny Gradovich.
Lomachenko is scheduled to defend his title against Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo on the undercard of the Nov. 22 pay-per-view featuring Manny Pacquiao vs. Chris Algieri. One week later, Gradovich will face Jayson Velez on the Nov. 29 undercard to Terence Crawford vs. Ray Beltran.
Gradovich is also managed by Klimas. If the fighter nicknamed “the Mexican Russian” beats Velez, Klimas says it’s possible Gradovich could go on to face titleholder Jhonny Gonzalez, Walters or Lomachenko.
Klimas is not at all opposed to fighters he manages facing each other.
“It’s a sport,” he said. “Gradovich and Lomachenko want to prove they are the best in the 126 division, so no matter what, one day they going to meet.”
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
