Walters Insists All Fights At 126 and 130 On The Table

By Jake Donovan

Verona, NY – Regardless of how the three judges viewed his fight with Jason Sosa, the plan for Nicholas Walters and promoter Top Rank is to proceed as if he won their 1o-round bout Saturday evening at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.

The unbeaten former featherweight champion from Jamaica appeared to have dominated Camden, New Jersey-bred Sosa over the course of their HBO-televised co-feature. Most observers had Walters winning anywhere from eight to all ten rounds in what served as his first official bout at the super featherweight limit after having vacated his featherweight title at the scales earlier this year.

The three ringside officials saw an entirely different, with Sosa winning 96-94 on one card while the other two scores had the fight at a 95-95 stalemate. The two tie scores meant a majority decision draw, which means Walters remains unbeaten despite no longer boasting a perfect record.

Even without an official win, the objective for 2016 remains getting Walters back in the title picture. Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum claimed in the days leading up to the fight that discussions were already in place for a potential showdown with Takashi Uchiyama, an unbeaten long-reigning titlist and de facto leader of the super featherweight division.

As boxing is a year-round sport, Uchiyama still has present business of his own to tend to. The 36-year old boxer from Japan faces Oliver Flores in his annual New Year’s Eve ring appearance in Tokyo, Japan.

The fact that the fight is still on the books gives Top Rank time to weight all options, as the insistence is that Uchiyama isn’t the only horse in the race.

“There are a ton of options out there. With a guy like Nicholas Walters, you don’t worry about who to match him with, you just hope you find someone willing to fight him,” Carl Moretti, vice president of operations for Top Rank told BoxingScene.com after the fight. “Of course, a guy like Uchiyama is an option. So too is Francisco Vargas, who just won a belt. We even look back into matching him with (featherweight titlist) Vasyl Lomachenko.”

Walters and Lomachenko were once on course for a featherweight title unification fight. That bout died – at least as far as Lomachenko was concerned – when Walters came in heavy and was stripped of his title prior to his eventual 12-round win over Miguel Marriaga this past June.

Despite his 5’7” frame appearing physically stronger at 130 lbs., the unbeaten boxer insists he can still move up and down in weight, depending on the best opportunity presented to him.

“That was just one time,” Walters told BoxingScene.com in dismissing claims he’s outgrown featherweight. “We have the right training camp, eat right, do everything right and I can make 126 lb. weight or we can stay at this weight. I’m fine with either one, I just want to fight the best.”

Whatever the weight class, he has a televised home in the foreseeable future.

“Nicholas Walters continues to look good,” noted Peter Nelson, executive vice president of HBO Sports. “We work with the promoters, with the fighters and help best determine what fights we can air. As far as this weight, there are a lot of 130 lbs. fighters out there. We will work with his team to figure out the best course of action and see what we can make happen in 2016.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox