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The second time was the charm for Vasyl Lomachenko and Nicholas Walters.
Second Time Was The Charm
After failing to come to terms to a June 2016 bout earlier this year, the camps of Vasyl Lomachenko and Nicholas Walters have come to terms on a November 26 bout:
#Lomachenko, #Walters agree to bout on Nov. 26 https://t.co/99O62yjlsm
— Christian Bertelsen (@propergandiste) September 28, 2016
According to Top Rank VP Carl Moretti, Nicholas Walters finally signed on the dotted line last Tuesday. This after Walters rejected the first offer to fight Lomachenko last June, with the Axe Man rejecting a $550K purse and demanding a sky high $1M to face the greatest amateur fighter of all-time. Lomachenko even went to the point of offering Walters $300K of his purse should the Jamaican beat him. Still Walters decided to sit it out and wait for the right deal.
Conquering Another Weight Class
While Walters decided to wait for a better offer, Lomachenko paraded his greatness last June 11 when he defeated Roman “Rocky” Martinez to win the Junior Lightweight title and capture his second title in as many weight classes. Despite having just seven professional bouts, Lomachenko ( 6-1, 4 KOs) is now a two division champion after knocking out the durable Martinez in a dominating five round performance.
Walters ( 26-0-1, 21 KOs) meanwhile is coming off a controversial draw against Jason Sosa in his 130 pound debut. Prior to that, Walters lost the WBA featherweight title on the scales against Miguel Marriaga in June 2015. Walters won that title with a sensational knockout of 2012 BWAA Fighter of the Year Nonito Donaire Jr. in 2014.
Explosive Bout
Lomachenko and Walters will fight for the Ukrainian’s WBO Junior Lightweight title. The bout will be held at the Cosmopolitan Hotel of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is expected to be one of the biggest bouts to close out 2016 and given the explosive nature of both fighters, it’s hard to think it’s going to disappoint.
Walters has an impressive record and a standout career but it’s hard to dispute Lomachenko’s pedigree. Lomachenko finished his legendary amateur career with a record of 396-1 with his only loss to Albert Selimov avenged twice. He fought for a world title in his second professional bout but was derailed by Orlando Salido in a controversial decision. One fight later, he won the WBO Featherweight title by beating Gary Russell Jr. and then went on to defend the belt thrice before moving up in weight to challenge Martinez last June. In beating Martinez, Lomachenko became the fastest fighter in history to win two weight classes.
