Nicholas Walters Wins WBA Title

Dateline: December 21, 2009

Showing the mettle of a true champion, Jamaica’s promising featherweight boxer Nicholas Walters won his first professional title on Friday, December 18, at the Karibe Hotel Convention Centre, in Port-au-Prince Haiti, with a unanimous points victory over Carlos Manuel Reyes of the Dominican Republic.

The 11-round contest was for the World Boxing Association (WBA) FedeLatin title and this victory should catapult him into the top-15 world rankings in the featherweight division early next year.

Walters went into the December 18 contest with a 12-0 record, ten of those fights ending inside the distance. His opponent also had an impressive 13-0 record with seven KO’s so a lot was at stake for both men.

There was one major concern about the Jamaican challenger going into the fight. In August, he fractured his right hand while scoring a sixth-round knockout victory over Ernesto Vasquez Batioja, and his handlers wondered whether the hand would stand up to the pressure.

The fears turned out to be unfounded, as Walters was quickly into his game plan as the fight started, and his pin-pointed jabs put his opponent in a defensive mould. Reyes, who is a sturdily built fighter with a lethal pair of hands tried to get close to Walters for inside exchanges, but Walters would have none of it and rapier-like jabs and constant movement from side to side around the ring, made him an elusive target.

While Walters scored with his jabs, his opponent missed repeatedly, and the Jamaican won the first round comfortably. Having shown the strategy that he would be maintaining, it remained to be seen whether Reyes could get him to change his plan. This did not happen and round after round Walters piled up the points and won the rounds as Reyes tried gallantly but unsuccessfully to change the tide.

In the seventh round, Walters had an unlucky break that could have been very costly. While moving backwards to avoid a Reyes attack, he slipped on a slick portion of the canvas and was helped down by a right hook. Fortunately for him, it was a glancing blow, but although he was not hurt and came back on the attack, he lost the round because of the knockdown.

He came out aggressively in the eighth to make it clear that he was still in charge of the fight and went on to win nine of the 11 rounds and a unanimous decision. Judge Harmodio Cedeno of Mexico scored it 107-103.5, judge Abdiel Barragan of Panama 107-100.5 and Keith Brown from Jamaica 107-101.5.

Contributor: Leroy Brown