Lomachenko to Fight Walters on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas

Vasyl Lomachenko has quickly taken the boxing world by storm and he’ll look to continue his ascent through the pound-for-pound rankings on Thanksgiving weekend. The Ukrainian wizard of the Sweet Science will come to Las Vegas Nov. 26 to face Nicholas Walters in what could be the last great fight of 2016.

Lomachenko (6-1, 4 KOs) is regarded as arguably the greatest amateur boxer to ever walk the earth and the two-time Olympic gold medalist has not disappointed since turning pro. After dropping a tough split decision to Orlando Salido in just his second fight without the head gear, “Hi-Tech won the vacant WBO featherweight title by edging then-undefeated Gary Russell Jr. He defended his crown thrice before moving up to junior lightweight, where he flattened Roman Martinez in one of the best knockouts of the year in June. That knockout won him the WBO title at 130 pounds and now he’s poised to make the first defense of it.

Standing in Lomachenko’s way is Walters, a surprisingly overlooked Jamaican who has already knocked out the likes of Vic Darchinyan and Nonito Donaire. Walters (26-0-1, 21 KOs) captured the WBA featherweight crown by taking out Daulis Prescott in 2012 and defended it three times before being stripped of it for failing to make weight ahead of his title fight against Miguel Marriaga last June. Walters hasn’t fought since last December, though, where he dueled Jason Sosa to 10-round majority draw.

“Any fighter can be knocked out no matter who he is,” said Walters. “I like fighting the best and I like fighting against great technical fighters like Lomachenko. Look at what happened when I fought a great technical fighter like Nonito Donaire. Lomachenko is great, he knows what he is doing in the ring. But I always look for a knockout against whomever I fight. If I can do it quick, I will. This is the best fight out there in boxing today. It will be the Fight of the Year.”

The bout will be held at the Chelsea inside the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas. The event will be televised live by HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:35 p.m. ET/7:35 p.m. PT. A full undercard will be announced in the coming weeks.