A Mexican Derby, and a unification one to boot, headline a Matchroom-promoted card at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona this Saturday, as WBO super featherweight boss, Emanuel Navarrete and IBF king Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez collide.
DAZN televise the Navarrete vs Nunez bill live.
Navarrete (39-2-1, KO32) is a three-weight world champion with the WBO, first reigning as their super bantamweight champion in 2018 as he took a decision win against Isaac Dogboe in New York.
He made five defences before winning the vacant WBO belt at featherweight, outscoring Ruben Villa, and another three defences followed before he decided to move up in weight again, claiming the vacant WBO super featherweight crown by getting off the deck to halt Liam Wilson in nine rounds in 2023.
Since a first points win defence against Oscar Valdez, Navarrete has been patchy in form, held to a draw by Robson Conceicao in November 2023, and he then failed in a bid for a WBO lightweight title, as he dropped a split decision to Denys Berinchyk.
After an emphatic rematch win over Valdez, this time knocking Valdez out in six, Navarrete was last out in May last year, where he was cut against Charly Suarez, and the bout was declared a no-contest.
Nunez (29-1, KO27) is a man on the rise, unbeaten since a 2018 six-round decision loss to Hiram Gallardo, and won 17 contests inside the distance after that reverse, and that led to a shot at the vacant IBF title shot out in Japan against Masanori Rikiishi.
Nunez boxed to order, and took a deserved points win to become the new champion.
His first defence came last September, but he had to get off the canvas in round seven before completing a wide points win against Christopher Diaz.
Prediction: Nunez is the fresher man in this one, and I expect him to be a bit too fresh for Navarrete, and pull away on the scorecards for a clear points win.
Tahmir Smalls vs Abel Ramos
In ten-rounders on the card, Tahmir Smalls (16-0, KO11) completed the distance for the first time in his last contest, and he may need the distance again to get past Abel Ramos (28-6-3, KO22) in their welterweight meeting, with Ramos only halted once, by Regis Prograis in 2015, retiring after eight frames.
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Remaining undercard
Emiliano Vargas (16-0, KO13) is another in a second scheduled ten-rounder of his career, and he can defend his WBO Latino and NABF super lightweight titles with a stoppage win against Argentina’s Agustin Ezequiel Quintana (22-2-1, KO13).
WBC Continental Americas super bantamweight champion Arturo Popoca (17-0-1, KO9) is also in action, and the Mexican can take a points win and the unbeaten record of Jordan Martinez (16-0, KO15).
The sole eight-rounder is at super lightweight, where Trini Ochoa (21-0, KO9) can outscore Oscar Alvarez Guerrero (14-2, KO12).
In six-rounders, Hector Beltran (6-0, KO5) can win early against Cesar Diaz (10-1, KO5) at super welterweight, and at bantamweight, Phillip Vela (4-0, KO2) can stop Brayan Ramos Armenta (8-7-1, KO2).
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In a welterweight four-rounder, Rahman Muhammad (1-0, KO1) can defeat Mitchell McFadden (1-0, KO1) inside the distance.
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