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Top Rank President Bob Arum announced on Friday that a deal that would pit Vasyl Lomachenko and Nicholas Walters was already agreed upon. According to Arum, the two featherweight fighters will fight possibly on April 30 at either Madison Square Garden in New York or at a venue in Chicago.
Weight Not an Issue
Lomachenko and Walters are two of the top fighters in boxing’s lower weight classes. The two were originally scheduled to face each other last year but after Walters missed weight in a fight with Miguel Marriaga, the Jamaican Axe Man decided to move up to 130 pounds. Lomachenko meanwhile, defended his 126-pound title against Romulo Koasicha last November and won by knockout. Walters meanwhile, made his 130-pound debut last December but figured in a controversial draw with Jason Sosa.
Although Arum says the fight is a go, he says they have yet to decide on which weight class it will be fought at. Walters previously said making 126 again won’t be a problem if there’s a big fight there but considering he missed the cut the last time he fought there, the fight is likely going to be at 130, where Lomachenko says he plans to move up to anyway.
Disparity in Experience
If you look at the fighter’s records, there is a huge professional experience disparity between the two. Walters is unbeaten in 26 bouts with 21 KOs while Lomachenko is a mere 5-1 with 3 KOs. But don’t let the numbers deceive you because Lomachenko is considered as the greatest amateur boxer of all-time. Lomachenko ended his amateur career with a record of 396-1, with his only loss coming at the hands of Albert Selimov and which he avenged twice. He earned a questionable title shot in only his second pro fight. He lost that one though to Orlando Salido but won the same WBO Featherweight title in his next fight when he defeated the highly touted Gary Russell Jr in June of 2014.
Walters meanwhile is one of the biggest punchers in the sport. He was the former WBA Welterweight champion before losing the title on the scales against Marriaga last year. Walters ended 2014 with a one sided KO win over former BWAA Fighter of The Year Nonito Donaire Jr. Walters also owns a fifth round KO win over former world champion Vic Darchinyan.
