Leroy Brown, Gleaner Writer

BUILDING ON the strength of a solid 38-11 amateur boxing record, 21-year-old Nicholas Walters, who is the Caribbean Amateur Boxing Association featherweight champion, has started the climb to what he hopes will be a world title as a professional before I am 25.

Walters, who turned pro on August 2 in Panama with a points victory over Esteban Ramos, has scored two other victories since then and is now firmly on a path to the top.

World professional title

His hope as an amateur was to win a medal in the Olympic Games, but like other outstanding Jamaican amateur boxers before him, notably Michael McCallum and Trevor Berbick, he failed to do so and has now set his sights on a world professional title.

Like McCallum, who was fortunate to get a good start in the United States after he left the amateur ranks, Walters has landed in boxing-mad Panama, courtesy of Haitian businessman Jacques Deschamps Jr, who once lived in Jamaica and has strong local ties.

Deschamps managed Richard Shrimpy Clarke for several years and saw him through to a world-title fight against Sot Chitilada here in Jamaica. Clarke did not deliver, however, and his career went downhill after that loss.

Deschamps, whose late father Jacques Deschamps Sr lived in Jamaica for a long time and was married to a Jamaican, managed boxing legend Bunny Grant successfully.

Grant won the Commonwealth lightweight title, was rated in the top 10 in the lightweight division in the world in the 60s and fought Eddie Perkins for his junior middleweight title. He lost a close decision then, but later beat Perkins in a non-title fight.

Deschamps Jr now manages Mexican-born World Boxing Council light-flyweight champion, Edgar Sosa.

After a three-month trial period in Panama, with all his expenses being taken care of by Deschamps, Walters recently signed a four-year contract with Deschamps, who was satisfied with what he saw of the young prospect.

Short holiday

Following a short holiday in Jamaica, Walters returned to Panama last Wednesday and will be assigned to Celso Ch?vez, who trains World Boxing Association bantamweight champion Anselmo Moreno, and has several world-rated boxers under his care.

Deschamps said recently that Ch?vez has given Walters high marks for his boxing skills and has predicted that if he maintains the work ethic shown over the past three months, he will go far in the professional ranks.

After his victory over Ramos, Walters has stopped two other fighters, Luis Gonzalez in the second round and Armando Carpintero in the first. He will have his fourth fight on October 30 and the goal is for him to be named Rookie of the Year in Panama, which is regarded as a great stepping stone for a young professional.

Before leaving on Wednesday, Walters said he was very comfortable in Panama, found it hard to believe that he was training with a world champion and the atmosphere he encountered every day made him want to excel.

He was very optimistic that he would do well in Panama and his goal, he says, is to emulate the achievements of McCallum, Jamaica's most successful amateur and professional boxer.