A crossroads bout could put the winner into contender status.

Former world featherweight titleholder Nicholas Walters will face Joseph Adorno on March 27, ProBox TV’s Chris Glover confirmed to The Ring over the weekend. The 10-round bout will take place at the Whitesands (also known as the ProBox TV) Events Center in Plant City, Florida. 

The fight will stream live on the ProBox TV YouTube page or application. 

“We’re excited about this crossroads bout,” Glover told The Ring. “The winner is rejuvenated and goes on to better things in the lightweight division. The loser needs to reevaluate his career. 

“Walters has been in Las Vegas and he’s been getting great sparring at Ismael Salas’ gym. I honestly think Ismael is the best trainer on the planet. Nicholas has been sparring unbeaten prospect Emiliano Moreno. He has had a strong camp for this fight. 

“Joseph is a completely reborn fighter. He is in a different state from when he was with Top Rank. I hope that kid succeeds. He’s worked hard to turn his life around from his defeats.”

Walters (28-1-1, 22 KOs), who is originally from Montego Bay, Jamaica, won the WBA world featherweight title in December 2012, making three successful defenses, including a knockout win over Nonito Donaire in October 2014. He challenged then-WBO world junior lightweight titleholder Vasiliy Lomachenko in November 2016, losing by technical knockout after round seven.

The 38-year-old Walters would not fight again until February 25 of last year, defeating Luis Diaz Marmol by unanimous decision. In his last bout on November 22, Walters stopped journeyman Reynaldo Esquivia in the second round. 

According to Boxrec, Walters weighed in at 148 pounds for the Esquivia fights. Walters’ last two fights took place in Colombia.

Adorno (18-3-2, 15 KOs) knocked out Jonathan Perez in the fifth round of his last bout on November 4 in his hometown of Allentown, Pennsylvania. The win came after back-to-back decision defeats at the hands of Elvis Rodriguez and, most recently, Edwin De Los Santos. 

The 24-year-old fought to a majority decision draw against Jamaine Ortiz in April 2021, a decision loss to Michel Rivera in March 2022, and a close unanimous decision win over Hugo Roldan over five months later.

In the co-feature between once-beaten junior welterweights, Starling Castillo of the Dominican Republic will square off against Jesus Saracho in a 10-round bout. 

Castillo (18-1-1, 13 KOs) has not fought since May 13, defeating Esteuri Suero by unanimous decision in a foul-filled contest. The 28-year-old is unbeaten in his last three fights since losing by decision to Otar Eranosyan in January 2022. 

Saracho (13-1-1, 11 KOs), who is originally from Guanajuato, Mexico and now resides in Auburn, Washington, fought to a majority decision draw against Tarik Zaina in his last bout on June 23. The 22-year-old is unbeaten in his last four bouts since a knockout loss to Deonte Brown in March 2022. 

Amateur standout David Navarro (6-1, 3 KOs) of Hemet, California will face Atlanta’s Justin Goodson (8-0, 8 KOs) in an eight-round featherweight bout. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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