Walters vs Marriaga was close for the first 6 rounds. But the bigger, stronger Nicholas Walters made the necessary adjustments soon after in New York. He began to take flight on the scorecards, bagged a 10th round knockdown, and captured his last victory at Featherweight before moving up. Miguel Marriaga was a skilled and powerful dance partner, it has to be said. The Columbian can also look forward to being an attraction in future bouts.
As for the WBA Featherweight title, neither man will be taking it home this evening (Walters lost the belt on the scales after failing to make weight). Jamaican-born Walters now moves to 25-0, 21 knockouts, while Marriaga falls to 20-1, 18 knockouts.
Walters vs Marriaga: Round by Round
Round 1: Battle of jabs starts the opener. Couple of single body shots from Walters. Left-hook from Marriaga. Walters the only man mixing it up to the body. Walters doesn’t appear weakened or off despite his ‘weigh-loss battles’ a day earlier on the scales – or perhaps it’s too early to tell? Walters, 10-9.
Round 2: Left-uppercut clips Walters. Both men landing jabs, looking evenly matched here. A chess-match of two heavy-handed thinkers. Marriaga lands a left-straight, snaps back Walter’s head. Right-hand over the top from Walters. Not an easy round to score, but Marriaga edges it. Marriaga, 10-9 (19-19).
Round 3: Both men still trying to out-think one another, with neither managing to make a considerable dent. Walters looks the bigger man physically, and is certainly big for the weight, hence reports of him moving up following this bout. The Jamaican nicks the round. Walters, 10-9 (29-28).
Round 4: Marriaga catches Walters with a big right-hand, follows up with a left-hook to the jaw. Walters grins, but it registered, showcasing Marriaga’s power. Another big overhand-right from Marriaga finds the target on a cornered Walters. Walters livens up to even the score with some hard combinations. It’s hard to foresee this fight going the distance given the dynamite involved. Both men made their first dents of the evening here, but Marriaga more so. Marriaga, 10-9 (38-38).
Round 5: Walters comes off better in exchange. Both men starting to let hands go more, Walters in particular. The bigger man has his work cut out, though. Let it be known. Action livening up going into final minute. Big right-hand from Walters. Marriaga one-two. Both men put in some good work in this round – so hard to score. Neither man has the other’s number yet by any means. Walters, 10-9 (48-47).
Round 6: Marriaga one-two. Boos from crowd – seriously? Marriaga loading up, but missing big. Yes, the fans want the knockout they were expecting (all good things come to those who wait, guys…). Boos surface once more. Both men tentative, but how hard can we be on them? Two of the hardest-hitting Featherweights in the division here. Are they supposed to throw caution to the wind and go straight for the knockout? Hell no. (Wasting our breath much?) Marriaga, 10-9 (57-57).
Round 7: Walters jab. Exchange follows, both men landing. Both fighters powerful yet ever so cunning. Marriaga combination. Marriaga right-hand. Walters busier nature and energy shining through. Good body attack from Walters who is starting to sense he needs to press the action perhaps. Walters, 10-9 (67-66).
Round 8: Walters not bossing the action, but simply busier which carries more appeal on scorecards. A few more boos. Marriaga stuck in a groove throwing the jab here. Walters big right-hand. Another big right-hand hurts Marriaga! The Columbian is too schooled to go down, however. He goes on the back foot and even throws a flurry in final seconds. Walters, 10-9 (77-75).
Round 9: Walters big hook to body. Marriaga still in there, but heavily out-worked. Walters emerging as the stronger, more energized man who could still score a knockout. During exchange, Marriaga clips Walters with an uppercut, but Walters also gets in a couple of his own landing shots. Walters scores a straight right-counter knockdown seconds before the bell! Marriaga doesn’t seem too hurt after regaining his feet. Walters, 10-8 (87-83).
Round 10: Walters strength and bigger build paying dividends now, chipping away at the smaller Marriaga. Walters elusive, throwing with less bad-intentions in this round surprisingly. Is Walters tiring? Or just looking to box his way to victory now? Walters, 10-9 (97-92).
Round 11: Battle of the jabs. Marriaga opening up, but Walters too elusive. Slipping, lateral movement. All there, and it’s Walters’ unpredictability that makes him that bit more special than his opponent. Walters uppercut. Walters jab coming through strong now. Walters coming out on top big in these final rounds, but Marriaga in no way disgraced. Walters, 10-9 (107-101).
Round 12: The action is continuing much the same, but Marriaga still fancies this fight. Marriaga lands a clipping right-hand and goes after Walters. Swings wildly for the knockout. Walters welcomes a brawl and eggs his foe on. Walters lands to the body a few times and finishes strong. And so we go to the scorecards…
Result: 118-109, 117-110, 119-108, Walters (doesn’t retain WBA Featherweight title as lost on the scales)
BoxingBase.com Scorecard: 107-101, Walters
Check out HBO’s Walters vs Marriaga fight highlights:
Walters vs Marriaga Undercard: Verdejo vs Najera
On the undercard, like Zlaticanin vs Redkach over in Alabama, the Walters vs Marriaga card had its own undercard clash of two unbeaten men. Felix Verdejo (18-0, 13 KO) went head to head with Ivan Najera (16-1, 8 KO), capturing the WBO Latino Lightweight strap via Unanimous Decision. And the 10-rounder contained plenty of action, much to the delight of the New York crowd.
After an even opener, the action exploded in the 2nd. Both men of course fancied themselves going in, and had something to prove. And they delivered the crowd a heck of fight. Both fighters were technically-sound, heavy-handed, but it was Verdeja who got the better of the exchanges going the first four rounds.
He was the ring general here, possessing an array of boxing assets that could well make him one very special fighter. The sharp-shooting, highly-focused Verdeja showcased his sturdy chin and lightning fast hands. The short, more compact Najera also looked to be something worth keeping an eye on despite eating the bigger punches.
In the 5th, Verdejo dropped his man with a crunching left-hook to the jaw. Najera weathered the storm that followed, fought back, and saw out the round. Then at the end of the 7th, another outta-nowhere hook – this of the ‘check’ variety – dropped Najera. Despite hitting the deck for the second time, Najera went on to the see the final bell, but not before eating some full-blooded shots from the more refined Verdeja.
Catch HBO’s highlights below:
You can see a full list of Walters vs Marriaga undercard outcomes on our Boxing Results page.
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