Walters snaps the jab on his way to an impressive
victory...
-Photo Credit: Kenny Perrault/BRC-
In early mid-2008 everything seemed to
be falling into place for Light Heavyweight Zach Walters. He held a few fringe
titles and was ranked as high as #12 by the WBC. But as things often go in
boxing it all came to a crashing halt when Walters faced journeyman Shawn
Hammack. Walters was easily ahead on all three judges scorecards going into the
last round when Shawn Hammack surprised everyone and stopped Walters.
Zach Walters next stepped in the ring
against former champion Byron Mitchell earlier this year. From what I was told
it was an action packed fight with both men having their moments but a severely
cut tongue forced Walters' corner to throw in the towel before any serious
damage was done.
Zach Walters found himself going from a
WBC #12 ranking to hard times, after dropping two fights in a row. What did Zach
Walters do? He did what any hungry fighter does. He picked himself up by his
boot straps and recommitted himself to the sport like never before. Walters and
his management team decided to make the move down to super middleweight. Tonight
was Walters first fight at super middle and he looked excellent.
Walters faced journeyman James Morrow,
who came into the ring with an 11-12 record but was all business. Morrow
exhibited a wild style, ithrowing wide punches from all angles. Walters was able
to counter Morrow with a snapping jab and a vicious body attack. Late in round
one a hard right hand sent Morrow to the canvas. Morrow was able to beat the
count and escaped the round.
Zach came out using the jab in the
second round, setting up both a head and body attack behind it, sending Morrow
once again to the canvas but as he did before Morrow was able to beat the ten
count. Walters really smelled blood now, and he trapped Morrow on the ropes,
unleashing a flurry that forced the referee to call a halt of the bout 1:46 of
the second round. I’ve never seen Zach Walters use his jab with such
effectiveness before but I sincerely hope it remains part of his arsenal. Zach
Walters improves to 24-4 (19 KO’s) while James Morrow falls to 11-13 (5 KO’s).
The night's main even featured
Minnesota Middleweight champion Andy “Kaos” Kolle against Anthony Shular. Kolle
is fresh off his most impressive victory over Anthony Bonsante via third round
KO and hoped to keep
the ball rolling against Shular.
The southpaw Kolle worked his jab from
the start but Shular was landing some effective shots of his own that would
occasionally stop Kolle in his tracks. The action was the same during the second
and third rounds. Kolle landing more effectively and Shular landing one shot at
a time.
The fight came to an end in the third
round when a hard left hand sent Shular to the canvas. Shular made it to his
feet on shaky legs forcing the referee to call the bout at 2:05 of the fourth
round. With the win, Andy Kolle ups his record to 19-2 (14 KO’s) while Anthony
Shular drops to 20-6 (14 KO’s).
