Walters Handed Dubious Draw vs Sosa

By Marc Livitz: Nicholas Walters found out that Jason Sosa wouldn’t back down at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York on Saturday. Still, he did more and landed more, yet Sosa threw more in what turned out to be a majority draw at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York. Walters, the unbeaten former featherweight champion from Montego Bay, Jamaica was making his initial appearance as a super featherweight as his tough opponent from Camden, N.J. was riding a thirteen bout winning streak, all of them by knockout.

The customary exchange of jabs and measurement of distance between the two made up the bulk of the first round, with Sosa (18-1-4, 14 KO’s) being the more active of the two up high while Walters (26-0-1, 21 KO’s) looked to counter to the body. Jason was the aggressor early on in the second, yet the in close shots to the ribs from Walters slowed him just a bit. Much of the third was spent with the two fighters exchanging leather in close quarters. Sosa’s punches were not quite as on the mark as that of his Jamaican opponent.

The bout continued to remain much in the center of the ring in the middle rounds as Nicholas was beginning to find the accuracy and angles necessary to slow down his New Jersey adversary. Sosa walked right into a counter right to the face early on in round five which made him sway just a tad, yet he quickly recovered. He returned the favor by way of a right uppercut to Walters’ chin. "Ax Man" Nicholas appeared to be slowly wearing away at Jason. His counters to the body were finding their mark.

There may have been an ever growing disparity in talent as the night moved along, however Sosa was giving Walters all he could handle in his first bout at 130 pounds. The major difference was in the power delivered and through seven rounds, Walters was gaining ground on what appeared to be a clear unanimous decision win. A hard left to the body of Sosa closed the period. Jason continued to throw his jab but he kept his elbows near his body in between.

The mounting advantage in power shots landed from Walters was telling an all too familiar tale. Sosa did catch Nicholas with a good right in the ninth and although it did get his attention, the momentum soon faded. A few more followed in what may have been his best round. The last three minutes arrived in the non-title, ten round contest and Sosa would of course look to take some chances. As he had done for the previous twenty seven minutes, Walters used his long jab and utilized his two inches in height as well as his notable seven inch reach to his favor.

The result of the bout would finally lie in the hands of Don Ackerman (95-95), Wynn Kintz (95-95) and Tom Schreck (96-94, Sosa). The decision was a poor one across all three cards, however the three judges may have been looking at a new version of Nicholas Walters who could not get his opponent out of the contest when it may have initially been seen as a foregone conclusion.

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December 19, 2015