By Edward Chaykovsky
According to Jacques Deschamps, manager of Nicholas 'The Axeman' Walters (25-0, 21KOs), his upcoming defense of the World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight super title will get pushed back to a date in April. He was scheduled to return on March 21 at The Theater in New York's Madison Square Garden, but picked up the fly and withdrew from the contest.
The opponent was going to be Gamalier Rodriguez, as part of an HBO televised doubleheader with Terence Crawford. There is no confirmation if Rodriguez will still be Walters' opponent.
"Nicholas picked up a bad flu virus shortly after he returned to Panama from Jamaica last week and has been in bed. His doctor has stated that he will not be able to start training for another two weeks, and that makes a fight in March impossible, as he will not have enough time to prepare properly," stated Deschamps to The Gleaner.
"His long break from training while in Jamaica for Christmas and the various award events was devastating, as he did no training and put on a lot of weight. Getting the flu now has been a major setback for him, but we just have to wait and get him back into fighting trim as soon as possible."
