Nicholas Walters vs. Miguel Marriaga: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction

In an impressive and workmanlike performance, Nicholas Walters won a unanimous decision over Miguel Marriaga on Saturday night. HBO Boxing has the official scorecards:

Walters had unfortunately lost his title on the scales on Friday night after weighing in one pound overweight, per ESPN's Dan Rafael.

Even without the belt, Walters fought like a champion. He punished Marriaga's body throughout the bout with the left hook as the primary weapon. In the ninth round, Walters used the other hand to floor Marriaga for the first time in his career. Here's a look at the sequence:

Marriaga did have some success. He landed some solid right hands and was able to daze the tough Jamaican in the fourth round. You'll see Walters' legs buckle a bit in the video below:

Marriaga deserves credit for his performance. Not only did he make Walters work to win, we must remember he was fighting a much larger man. The 28-year-old Colombian has a bright future and deserves another shot at a real featherweight.

Per the HBO broadcast, Walters was unofficially 145 pounds on Saturday night, which is 20 pounds over the featherweight limit. That leads you to believe, he could easily move up to lightweight or even 140 pounds without any concession.

Having already surrendered his WBA title on the scales, Walters may want to seriously consider leaving the featherweight division permanently. Most wanted to see Walters face WBO champion and fellow Top Rank Boxing stablemate Vasyl Lomachenko face each other.

With Walters giving up the title, it's unclear whether that bout—which was contingent on a win from Walters on Saturday night—is still on the table. Perhaps further down the line, a meeting with 140-pound champion and another Top Rank fighter, Terrence Crawford, is a possibility at light welterweight

Undisputed Champions Network's Steve Kim wants Walters to pick a division and consistently make the weight:

While Walters is clearly talented, he could lose something more valuable than a world title if he can't be trusted to make weight.

Consistently missing weight will make him look unprofessional to fans, and that could hurt his marketability and earning potential. As of now, chalk this one up as another strong performance, but we'll all be watching to see if he can continue to improve and make weight.

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