By Ian S Palmer
Vasyl Lomachenko vs Nicholas Walters Preview November 26th
Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine will be defending his WBO Super Featherweight Championship against undefeated Nicholas Walters of Jamaica at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas this Saturday, November 26th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in North America on HBO while fans in the UK can catch the action on BoxNation. Lomachenko won the title against Roman ‘Rocky’ Martinez of Puerto Rico via a fifth-round stoppage back on June 11th in his last bout while Walters’ last fought to a 12-round draw with Jason Sosa back in December. Lomachenko is also a former WBO Featherweight Champion while Walters once held the WBA Featherweight and Super Featherweight Titles.
The 28-year-old Lomachenko is a southpaw who is just 6-1 with 4 Kos in his pro career. His lone loss came via a decision at the hands of Orlando Salido by a controversial split decision in March of 2014. Lomachenko turned pro in 2013 after winning two Olympic gold medals for his homeland. He had an excellent and extensive amateur career and is already considered by most experts to be one of the top pound-for-pound boxers on the globe. He won the WBO Featherweight crown against Gary Russell Jr. via a majority decision in June of 2014 and defended it against Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo, Gamalier Rodriguez, and Romulo Koasicha.
The champion possesses fantastic footwork, speed, and accuracy, but may be lacking slightly when it comes to power. However, that’s debatable after the way he stopped Martinez earlier this year. In general, Lomachenko breaks his opponents down with solid combinations and body and head shots. Fans weren’t too happy about the level of opposition in his two bouts before meeting Martinez, but he’ll be meeting a quality opponent once again in the 30-year-old Walters. Lomachenko stands 5-feet-7-inches tall and has a wingspan of 65.5 inches and has fought 64 rounds since turning pro. His knockout ratio currently stands at 57 per cent.
Unbeaten former WBA Featherweight Champion Nicholas Walters of Jamaica is back in the ring this Saturday, December 19th when he takes on Jason Sosa of Camden, New Jersey in a 10-round junior lightweight bout. The card takes place at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York and can be seen live in Canada and the U.S. on HBO. There could be some fireworks in this contest since both boxers have just one loss between them and have recorded 35 knockouts in their 48 contests for a knockout ratio of 80 per cent.
Walters, from Montego Bay, has a near perfect record of 26-0-1 along with 21 Kos and made a name for himself by stopping Nonito Donaire in the sixth round in October of 2014 last year. Walters has won 11 out of his last 13 contests by way of knockout and won the vacant WBA Featherweight Championship back in December of 2012 when the stopped Daulis Prescott in the seventh round. Walters stopped all three challengers in his three title defences over a three-year period. These foes were Alberto Garza along with former two-division world champion Vic Darchinyan and Donaire.
Walters stands 5-feet-7-inches tall and has a 73-inch reach, which makes him the same height as the champion, but he has a 7.5-inch reach advantage. Walters also appears to have the edge in power as his current knockout rate stands at 78 per cent. Walters has 127 rounds under his belt since turning pro back in 2008. He also had a fine amateur career, but at the moment he’s more known for his power than his fine boxing skills. He’s mobile in the ring with good speed and appears to have a solid chin. He lost his title on the weigh scales back in June of 2015 when he came in a pound heavy for his bout against Miguel Marriaga. However, Walters went on to win by a 12-round unanimous decision.
Prediction…
Walters seems to have the advantage in power and pro experience here, but that’s probably it. It’ll be interesting to see how Lomachenko handles the challenger’s heavy hands, but if his chin holds up as predicted, he should prove he has the better boxing skills. This should be an interesting and exciting bout with Lomachenko retaining his title by decision or a possible late stoppage.
