The Axeman swings again

NICHOLAS ‘THE Axeman’ Walters will climb into the ring tonight with, as he told The Gleaner yesterday, “victory on my mind”, when he takes on Joseph ‘Blessed Hands’ Adorno in the 10-round main bout of a five-fight card at the Whitesands Events Center in Plantation City, Florida.

It will be Walters’ third fight in his comeback after a six-year layoff. The regional World Boxing Association (WBA) International title will be on the line.

Walters, who is now 38 years old and a former WBA Super World Featherweight champion, enters the ring with a 28-1-1 record and his opponent, a promising 24-year old fighter from New Jersey, has an impressive 18-3-2.

It is a fight that means a lot to both boxers. Walters, who has been to the mountaintop, is trying to get back there in a higher weight class, the lightweight division, while Adorno is trying to get there.

At the weigh-in yesterday, Walters oozed confidence as he tipped the scales at 133 pounds four ounces, while Adorno was just under the 135-pound limit at 134.6.

Walters told The Gleaner after the weigh-in that he had trained very hard for the fight and was in great condition. He was therefore very confident that he would be the winner, although he expected a tough battle from his opponent.

Adorno, he said, was a good boxer-fighter, and he knew that a tough fight was ahead, but having fought the best in the past, he was sure that he would be able to solve any problems posed by his opponent.

“I want Jamaica to be proud of me again,” he declared.

His trainer Jaime Moreno, who is from Mexico and lives in California, said he was very satisfied with the way Walters had approached his training for the fight. Asked about the possible outcome of the fight, he said, “Nicholas has been in the gym working hard for the past four months, and he is hungry. He had a good training camp and is anxious to get into the ring. It will be a great fight, and he is going to win.”