By Cliff Rold
Jamaica’s 29-year old WBA Featherweight titlist Nicholas Walters (25-0, 21 KO) looks the part.
With size, length, boxing skill, and prodigious power, he’s right at the top of a new wave of talent at 126 lbs. that has the division on fire again. Holding the WBA’s sub-‘world’ title since 2012, he made it all his last year. A possible showdown with WBO titlist Vasyl Lomachenko (4-1, 2 KO) already has mouths watering, even with the limited professional experience of the Ukrainian.
Two years ago, the class was spotty. Things change quickly in boxing. Featherweight might not yet have the depth of Welterweight or Flyweight, but it’s closing.
Walters enters in high esteem for an HBO main event Saturday night (10 PM EST/PST) after two huge victories in 2014. In the first, he stopped former Flyweight titlist and World Jr. Bantamweight champion Vic Darchinyan in five. In his very next fight, he became the first man to stop four-division titleholder Nonito Donaire in six.
It was enough to garner Walter some looks for Fighter of the Year in some corners. This weekend, he’s in with a man far less accomplished and known than either of the likely future Hall of Famers he defeated last year.
It might be a tougher fight than either.
Walters looks the part. This weekend, we really start to find out if he is.
We start to find out what happens when he’s picking on someone his own size.
For all the excitement he’s creating, there is no overlooking the unknown for now. The most impressive victories for Walters to date came against men who won their first titles, and had their best form, below him on the scale. His wins prior to that at Featherweight were of mostly building block variety.
That’s not a bad thing. It’s the development curve for most in the sport. Walters had the good fortune to find big names to detonate when his moment arrived. Whether it’s this weekend, or with Lomachenko, what we won’t know for sure until it happens is what happens when he faces an upper caliber opponent who is natural to his domain.
Is Marriaga going to prove to be that caliber opponent?
Colombia’s 27-year old Miguel Marriaga (20-0, 18 KO) doesn’t have enough on his dossier just yet to say what part he appears ready to play. That’s part of the fun of the match. There is a ton of gray area in handicapping this one. What we do know speaks well of his chances.
Unlike Darchinyan and Donaire, Marriaga is unlikely to enter the ring markedly outsized. Walters, who rehydrates to near the Jr. Welterweight limit, is big for his class. Marriaga has fought as high as Jr. Lightweight. Last October, against his most notable foe to date, he stopped veteran Christopher Martin in six. It was the first stoppage defeat of Martin’s career and the way Marriaga did it adds to the intrigue.
Marriaga doesn’t look like some of the Colombian’s of recent years. Sure, like many of his countrymen, he can punch and he’s aggressive. The way he applies those things shows real nuance. Marriaga has quick hands and throws at varied speeds. He’s constantly pressing, has a mean hook to the body, but exhibits patience and precision. His head movement shows some real schooling.
Will that matter against Walters?
Marriaga hasn’t defeated anyone the caliber of Donaire yet. He hasn’t faced anyone close. This is in professional terms a big step up. Marriaga certainly hasn’t had his whiskers tested yet the way Walters can test them.
We saw Walters take, and recover, from a big Donaire shot last out. Marriaga eliminated Walters from Olympic qualification as an amateur in 2008 but this is no amateur fight.
With two men who have shown they can knock men out in the first or into the later rounds, leaving the constraints of the unpaid ranks behind is all the better.
Nicholas Walters looks the part. He’s started to collect some names. If he can handle the better natural sized Featherweights the way he did Darchinyan and Donaire, the thrills of 2014 could last for a few years to come.
Marriaga, win or lose, could be a big part of those thrills in a couple days.
Cliff’s Notes…
If Carl Froch opts not to fight Gennady Golovkin and instead pursues a huge British fight with newly minted titlist James DeGale, it would be a little disappointing. It would maintain Froch’s long-standing run of quality opponents, but it doesn’t appear as dangerous in terms of violence or as aesthetically pleasing. If Froch opts to retire altogether, he’s earned that right. Closer to 40 than 30 and with plenty of wars, choosing retirement would be reasonable and fans should salute a man who gave as much as he did and got out with his marbles…Finally finished the first season of Daredevil. The last episode was a little cliché as far as the genre but the overall season raised the bar. Vincent D’Onofrio deserves Emmy consideration…Still can’t fathom how Deontay Wilder has made two appearances on TV this year and neither was on network TV. PBC has its pluses and minuses. Not making him their centerpiece in a market starving for a big man star is mind boggling…Speaking of minuses, the show last weekend headlined by Guerrero-Martinez had some good action but couldn’t have looked more bush league on TV. If casual viewers flip stations and see an empty arena, why should they stop to watch? The image of unfilled seats screams, “no one cared about this so why should I?” The early start time is no excuse in one of the most densely populated areas of the U.S. Someone dropped the ball badly on local promotion…Finally, still feeling joy at seeing a Triple Crown winner. All hail American Pharoah!
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com