Jamaica Boxing Board of Control (JBBC) president Stephen ‘Bomber’ Jones believes Nicholas Walters’ historic victory for the WBA featherweight title and the hosting of international boxing on local soil, which was streamed worldwide, was icing on the cake for local boxing, which has resurfaced with a meteoric rise under his tenure in the last few years.

But after a 22-year absence of international boxing locally, Jones said it cost a successful US$120,000 bid by the Boxing Board to stage the event. How much of that figure Walters will receive was not clear, according to Jones.

However, he stressed that more attention and support must be given to the young amateurs and coaches if Jamaica hopes to produce other champions in the future.

He said the impact for both Nicholas and the sport overall was huge and they are ready to capitalise on any spin-offs.

“Nicholas’ life will change completely now, but he has opened the door for Jamaican boxing. So it is for us now to follow the steps he has taken, that by the time he retires there will be 10 more of him following behind,” Jones said.

“This will have a huge impact on Jamaican boxing overall… for Nicholas will be worldwide, because this fight was streamed worldwide, and it was followed daily by the international press from the day it was announced that Nicholas was going to fight for the world championship.

“But what we need to do now is strengthen from the amateur level, which we have our amateur championship starting next week, because the gyms are full and the amateurs need to be nurtured. But now they have an idol to look up to, and he (Walters) has the right characteristics to be their idol,” he reasoned.

The JBBC president, who took office last May, has been showered with praise for his administration’s accomplishments, but he was quick to point out that his predecessor, Williams Tavares-Finson, was the one who laid the foundation for all that is happening now.

“The credit I’m getting is not fully deserved because I came in after William Tavares-Finson, who did all the hard work to get amateur boxing and a lot of other little things up and running.

“I also came when Nicholas was on his way to the top and there was already a lot of momentum, so I only had to maintain it,” he said.

But now that this chapter is closed, he believes everyone associated with the ‘Axeman’ and Jamaican boxing should enjoy the moment and with great expectations for the future.

“Nicholas will cherish this just as we will cherish it, but it is when he’s going into his fifth defence with everyone behind him, we will see the true impact of this evening’s result.

The board also hopes to host more international fights in the future, but Jones believes there is a process to be learnt first.

“The WBA president (Gilberto Mendoza Snr) flew in to see Jamaica as a venue and what our impact would be if international fights with big names were held here… and everything they saw they liked, but I know we still have a lot more to show them,” he said.

“We want to have more fights like this here, but there are some steps to take to learn how it’s done… after we’ve learnt that we will work hard to make it happen again… but this was a very successful night and things can only get better from here,” he concluded.