Successful title defence for Jamaica's Walters

Leroy Brown, Gleaner writer

Nicholas Walters made the first defence of his World Boxing Association (WBA) FedeLatin featherweight title, a successful one last Saturday night, with an impressive sixth round technical knockout victory over Colombian Jose Miguel Payares, in Colon City, Panama.

The exciting Walters, who has just completed his second year as a professional boxer, now has an outstanding 15-0 record, with 12 of those fights ending inside the distance. Speaking with The Gleaner on Monday, his manager Jacques Deschamps Jr said that he was very pleased with the performance of his fighter.

Best fights

"This was one of his best fights and he followed the instructions of his trainer all the way" said Deschamps.

Because of his impressive knockout record, Deschamps said Walters had the tendency to try to end all his fights inside the distance. To do this he sometimes tried too hard, got reckless and left himself open to counter-punchers.

His instructions for this fight, said Deschamps, was to be more methodical, use his jabs to set up his opponent and when the opportunity presented itself, to go to the body and weaken his opponent. He did just that in the first three rounds and had Payares on the defensive all the way.

He stepped up the pace in the fourth round, cut his opponent in that round and then pressured him in the fifth. He hurt his opponent with solid body punches in the fifth round and Payares took so much punishment in that round, that he did not answer the bell for the sixth, giving Walters a TKO victory.

Walters said after the fight that he was happy to have made the first defence of his title, and that after a short rest he will be back in the gym getting ready for another fight in September.

"The world featherweight title is my goal and I just have to do everything possible now to get there. I worked very hard for this fight and this will be the pattern for the future. Anybody in my way has to be put to the side" he ended.