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He wanted $750k or $800k. Still less than the $850k Loma was getting
Anson Wainwright
May 2nd, 2016
Up until very recently, Nicholas Walters was in the running to face WBO featherweight titlist Vasyl Lomachenko at junior lightweight on June 11.
However, when the heavy-handed Jamaican balked at the mid-six-figure purse offered him, he effectively took himself out of the Lomachenko bout. Many in the industry questioned Walters’ motives.
“Lomachenko is one of the better opponents that we’re gonna fight,” Walters told ******.com on Tuesday. “We asked for a certain amount; they said no. They said only $550,000 was available for the fight and I think fighting Lomachenko for $550,000 with the tax we’re gonna pay to the government and everybody, we actually go home with nothing. We took the decision; we’re not gonna fight for $550,000.
“That was the main issue why we didn’t do the Lomachenko fight. Apart from that, we’re always willing to fight the big name fighters. For me, fighting, personally, this year, making money and fighting big name fighters: That’s my goal for this year.”
Walters was reportedly seeking was a cool million dollars.
“Yeah,” he said simply when questioned on the figure, “but when I spoke to them, I said maybe $750,000 or $800,000 but they said only $550,000. I said, ‘No’…Why risk taking a fight for $550,000 when you know you’re not getting anything? You know you can’t beat (Lomachenko) on decision; you have to knock him out. It’s the only way to beat him.
“You know what the odds are fighting a fighter like Lomachenko. You’re not going to beat him on a decision; you got to knock him out. I fought (Jason) Sosa and I beat him clearly and they called it a draw. What do you think if it was Lomachenko? I would have a loss on my record. You have to know what the odds are when you take a fight, so the odds with taking a fight with Lomachenko, you have to knock him out to win. With me taking that odds, you need to pay me for that.”
Lomachenko took to social media to offer Walters an extra $300,000 to top up his $550,000 purse, if he could beat the Ukrainian.
It wasn’t an offer Walters took seriously.
“I could say, ‘Why don’t we put all the money together, winner take it all?” he said defiantly. “If you look at his career, he definitely needs to beat me to make his name; he has’t beat any top fighter.
“All his fights he wins, is mostly against fighters he’s supposed to beat. In my career, I’ve beat guys I’m not supposed to beat. That’s the difference between Nicholas the ‘Axe Man’ and Lomachenko. Everybody he beats, he’s expected to beat. Fighting me is a real true fight. He can say whatever he wants to say. Whenever the fight presents itself, I’ll take the fight. I’m not scared of him.”
Currently, Walters (26-0-1, 21 knockouts) is training at the Rockero Gym in Panama City with a view to fight at 130 pounds, though he hasn’t completely ruled out another fight at featherweight.
“I can make 126; it depends on the opponent,” said the 30-year-old boxer-puncher. “Most guys don’t want to fight me at 126, so we go up to 130. If the opponent is right and the money is right, we’ll go to 126.
“If I’m supposed to fight at 126, I definitely want to fight one of the champions. At 130, I’m not looking for opponents I’m supposed to beat; I’m always looking for the big name fight. At the end of my career, everybody can say I didn’t hide from nobody. I fight all the top name fighters and beat them all.”
Walters expects to fight in the coming months. He’s long been known to be big for 126 and 130 and is shedding a few pounds before he hopes to fight on HBO.
“As soon as possible, as soon as HBO has something,” he said when asked on his return. “Maybe in a few months, I’m hoping to get two fights this year, in a few months and at the end of this year. I’m looking for two fights this year.”
Walters also has an eye on the June 4 fight between Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido when they clash for Vargas’ WBC junior lightweight title.
“My type of fight,” he said with a laugh. “Those are the guys I want to fight. Whoever wins, we maybe get a shot at them, maybe see the ‘Axe Man’ with these fighters. These are the fights that make your name look good in the world of boxing.”
He doesn’t feel his decision to turn down a fight with Lomachenko will hurt him in the long run.
“I think with Top Rank (Promotions), I don’t think they have no problem with me not taking the fight,” he explained. “On HBO, I’ve never given a bad show. Each time I fight on HBO, I give a very (good) showing. Not every time we’re gonna knock the opponent out; we try very hard to get the opponent out. Not everybody you’re gonna get out. We never give a bad show. I don’t think HBO has a problem with me.”
Top Rank Inc. CEO Bob Arum opined on Walters, “We offered him $550,000. Lomachenko agreed $550,000 with $300,000 to go to the winner.
“The idea that he wouldn’t get a decision against Lomachenko, if he won the decision, is ludicrous because Lomachenko isn’t American (and wouldn’t have a supposed home advantage) but yeah, Lomachenko is a great boxer, so (Walters would) probably have to knock him out to win.
“We were giving (Walters) every penny from HBO that we had from the fight. I just can’t subsidize these fights and lose money because this kid thinks he deserves more money. He wants more money and I can’t pay him, so he’s quite correct. We pass and go on to somebody else. Lomachenko is fighting (WBO junior lightweight titlist Roman) Martinez (on June 11).
“Did Walters hurt himself with us or HBO by turning the fight down? No, he didn’t violate a contract or anything like that, so that’s fine, but, again, I can’t afford to pay these fighters appreciably more than I’m getting from the television and that’s what the television network felt the fight was worth.
“There’s a limited number of dates that HBO has. They had him fight this guy Sosa on a date of his own. He didn’t look particularly great; it was a draw. I don’t know how much money he thinks he gonna get.
“The problem is (Al) Haymon was throwing all this money around – which he’s not doing anymore – it wasn’t his money. It was the investment banking people. That threw the market into a tizzy; that’s what Eddie Hearn said.
“The days where a Walters – who is a number of very good fighters – can command huge purses is over. You get $550,000 with a chance, if he won, to get another $300,000. It’s a tremendous purse. There are guys now fighting for much, much less. Money isn’t growing on trees. Haymon went through a half-billion dollars; that comes and goes.
“He’s a terrific fighter but, you know, again, he’s got to come down to Earth. The world goes on.”
Hopefully over the coming months, we see Walters in action and against one of the top fighters he says he’s willing to face…if the price is right, of course.
http://goo.gl/gLn11k
Anson Wainwright
May 2nd, 2016
Up until very recently, Nicholas Walters was in the running to face WBO featherweight titlist Vasyl Lomachenko at junior lightweight on June 11.
However, when the heavy-handed Jamaican balked at the mid-six-figure purse offered him, he effectively took himself out of the Lomachenko bout. Many in the industry questioned Walters’ motives.
“Lomachenko is one of the better opponents that we’re gonna fight,” Walters told ******.com on Tuesday. “We asked for a certain amount; they said no. They said only $550,000 was available for the fight and I think fighting Lomachenko for $550,000 with the tax we’re gonna pay to the government and everybody, we actually go home with nothing. We took the decision; we’re not gonna fight for $550,000.
“That was the main issue why we didn’t do the Lomachenko fight. Apart from that, we’re always willing to fight the big name fighters. For me, fighting, personally, this year, making money and fighting big name fighters: That’s my goal for this year.”
Walters was reportedly seeking was a cool million dollars.
“Yeah,” he said simply when questioned on the figure, “but when I spoke to them, I said maybe $750,000 or $800,000 but they said only $550,000. I said, ‘No’…Why risk taking a fight for $550,000 when you know you’re not getting anything? You know you can’t beat (Lomachenko) on decision; you have to knock him out. It’s the only way to beat him.
“You know what the odds are fighting a fighter like Lomachenko. You’re not going to beat him on a decision; you got to knock him out. I fought (Jason) Sosa and I beat him clearly and they called it a draw. What do you think if it was Lomachenko? I would have a loss on my record. You have to know what the odds are when you take a fight, so the odds with taking a fight with Lomachenko, you have to knock him out to win. With me taking that odds, you need to pay me for that.”
Lomachenko took to social media to offer Walters an extra $300,000 to top up his $550,000 purse, if he could beat the Ukrainian.
It wasn’t an offer Walters took seriously.
“I could say, ‘Why don’t we put all the money together, winner take it all?” he said defiantly. “If you look at his career, he definitely needs to beat me to make his name; he has’t beat any top fighter.
“All his fights he wins, is mostly against fighters he’s supposed to beat. In my career, I’ve beat guys I’m not supposed to beat. That’s the difference between Nicholas the ‘Axe Man’ and Lomachenko. Everybody he beats, he’s expected to beat. Fighting me is a real true fight. He can say whatever he wants to say. Whenever the fight presents itself, I’ll take the fight. I’m not scared of him.”
Currently, Walters (26-0-1, 21 knockouts) is training at the Rockero Gym in Panama City with a view to fight at 130 pounds, though he hasn’t completely ruled out another fight at featherweight.
“I can make 126; it depends on the opponent,” said the 30-year-old boxer-puncher. “Most guys don’t want to fight me at 126, so we go up to 130. If the opponent is right and the money is right, we’ll go to 126.
“If I’m supposed to fight at 126, I definitely want to fight one of the champions. At 130, I’m not looking for opponents I’m supposed to beat; I’m always looking for the big name fight. At the end of my career, everybody can say I didn’t hide from nobody. I fight all the top name fighters and beat them all.”
Walters expects to fight in the coming months. He’s long been known to be big for 126 and 130 and is shedding a few pounds before he hopes to fight on HBO.
“As soon as possible, as soon as HBO has something,” he said when asked on his return. “Maybe in a few months, I’m hoping to get two fights this year, in a few months and at the end of this year. I’m looking for two fights this year.”
Walters also has an eye on the June 4 fight between Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido when they clash for Vargas’ WBC junior lightweight title.
“My type of fight,” he said with a laugh. “Those are the guys I want to fight. Whoever wins, we maybe get a shot at them, maybe see the ‘Axe Man’ with these fighters. These are the fights that make your name look good in the world of boxing.”
He doesn’t feel his decision to turn down a fight with Lomachenko will hurt him in the long run.
“I think with Top Rank (Promotions), I don’t think they have no problem with me not taking the fight,” he explained. “On HBO, I’ve never given a bad show. Each time I fight on HBO, I give a very (good) showing. Not every time we’re gonna knock the opponent out; we try very hard to get the opponent out. Not everybody you’re gonna get out. We never give a bad show. I don’t think HBO has a problem with me.”
Top Rank Inc. CEO Bob Arum opined on Walters, “We offered him $550,000. Lomachenko agreed $550,000 with $300,000 to go to the winner.
“The idea that he wouldn’t get a decision against Lomachenko, if he won the decision, is ludicrous because Lomachenko isn’t American (and wouldn’t have a supposed home advantage) but yeah, Lomachenko is a great boxer, so (Walters would) probably have to knock him out to win.
“We were giving (Walters) every penny from HBO that we had from the fight. I just can’t subsidize these fights and lose money because this kid thinks he deserves more money. He wants more money and I can’t pay him, so he’s quite correct. We pass and go on to somebody else. Lomachenko is fighting (WBO junior lightweight titlist Roman) Martinez (on June 11).
“Did Walters hurt himself with us or HBO by turning the fight down? No, he didn’t violate a contract or anything like that, so that’s fine, but, again, I can’t afford to pay these fighters appreciably more than I’m getting from the television and that’s what the television network felt the fight was worth.
“There’s a limited number of dates that HBO has. They had him fight this guy Sosa on a date of his own. He didn’t look particularly great; it was a draw. I don’t know how much money he thinks he gonna get.
“The problem is (Al) Haymon was throwing all this money around – which he’s not doing anymore – it wasn’t his money. It was the investment banking people. That threw the market into a tizzy; that’s what Eddie Hearn said.
“The days where a Walters – who is a number of very good fighters – can command huge purses is over. You get $550,000 with a chance, if he won, to get another $300,000. It’s a tremendous purse. There are guys now fighting for much, much less. Money isn’t growing on trees. Haymon went through a half-billion dollars; that comes and goes.
“He’s a terrific fighter but, you know, again, he’s got to come down to Earth. The world goes on.”
Hopefully over the coming months, we see Walters in action and against one of the top fighters he says he’s willing to face…if the price is right, of course.
http://goo.gl/gLn11k
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