By Keith Idec

HACKENSACK, N.J. – Jason Sosa respects Nicholas Walters.

The unknown junior lightweight from Camden, N.J., just doesn’t consider himself the huge underdog he is perceived to be approaching their 10-round, 130-pound fight Saturday night in Verona, N.Y. The 27-year-old Sosa (18-1-3, 14 KOs) is taking an enormous step up in competition, yet views his HBO fight against Jamaica’s Walters (26-0, 21 KOs) as a 50-50 proposition.

“Walters was a great champion at 126, but he’s coming into my division,” Sosa said following a recent training session at Garden State School of Boxing. “It’s 50-50. Fifty is his because he has the experience. Fifty is mine because I’m the bigger and stronger guy. But it’s a big factor that he’s fighting a true 130-pounder, and a monster at that. He’s fighting a monster now.”

Sosa didn’t start boxing until he was almost 20, just seven years ago, and competed in only three amateur matches. He went 4-1-3 in his first eight professional fights, including a first-round TKO defeat to Treyshawn Wiggins (7-1, 6 KOs). Undeterred, Sosa improved on the job and takes a 13-fight knockout streak into his showdown with Walters, who was an accomplished amateur.

“Honestly, if he did his homework – and he is a smart guy, a smart fighter – he knows not to come into this fight aggressive,” Sosa said. “He’ll have to be smart and really take this fight seriously.”

Footage of Walters’ last fight has reinforced Sosa’s strong belief that he can pull off what would be one of boxing’s biggest upsets of the year. Walters won his 12-rounder against Colombia’s Miguel Marriaga (21-1, 18 KOs) by large margins on all three scorecards (119-108, 118-109, 117-110) on June 13 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden. He recorded a ninth-round knockdown, too, but it was far from his most impressive performance.

“Marriaga could’ve beat him,” Sosa said. “He just let Nicholas dictate the pace and he picked him apart. You have to have the right game plan for Nicholas Walters. You can’t let him dictate the fight. You’ve got to be smart.

“He is a great fighter. I’m not taking that away from him, but I’m also a very smart technical fighter. I don’t only have power.”

The Walters-Sosa bout will open HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” doubleheader from Turning Stone Resort Casino at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT. Philadelphia’s Bryant Jennings (19-1, 10 KOs) and Cuba’s Luis Ortiz (23-0, 20 KOs) are scheduled to fight in the 12-round main event for the WBA interim heavyweight title.

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.