Emanuel Navarrete reveals his game plan for O’Shaquie Foster

On October 24, at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Emanuel Navarrete faces O’Shaquie Foster in a WBO/IBF/WBC super featherweight unification bout, live on DAZN. This is undoubtedly one of the best fights to be made in boxing, and ahead of this intriguing clash, “Vaquero” spoke following a recent training session in San Juan Zitlaltepec about his feelings about facing Foster.

Emanuel Navarrete vs O’Shaquie Foster set for October 24 unification showdown

Navarrete (40-2-1, 33 KOs) is a three-division world champion, winning titles at super bantamweight, featherweight and super featherweight. Earlier this year, “Vaquero” produced a career-best performance, stopping the dangerous IBF champion Eduardo Nunez in the 11th round, adding the IBF strap to his WBO title.

Foster (25-3, 12 KOs) has bounced back impressively following his three career defeats. Following his defeat to Robson Conceicao, Foster bounced back, defeating the Brazilian, before recording two impressive wins against Stephen Fulton and Ray Ford.

Emanuel Navarrete warns Foster ahead of Oct. 24

After his recent training session in San Juan Zitlaltepec, Navarrete discussed Foster and his approach to facing the WBC champ:

“He is a great champion. He looks very good, very solid, very confident, and I think that will help us put on an excellent fight. Knowing how Foster boxes and what I can offer inside the ring, I think we’re going to try to pressure him and look to land to the body so that he starts slowing down and we can catch him more cleanly and more often in the later rounds.”

Discussing what gives him confidence against Foster, “Vaquero” said: 

“We all know that fighting against Foster is very difficult. He likes to move around a lot, but that’s something we can work on. I’m confident that he hasn’t faced a fighter like me, and I think that can help me. Either way, the foundation of all of this is the work, the preparation and how much we’re demanding of ourselves in this camp.” 

The Big Fight Weekend verdict

Navarrete has been underwhelming and brilliant at different points in his career, but his last time out against Nunez was a career-best performance. At his best, “Vaquero” is a huge problem for any fighter at 130 pounds. His style is unorthodox, which poses a problem for his opponents in itself.

His work rate shone through against Nunez, and when he uses his footwork and picks his shots, he’s a difficult puzzle to solve for anyone. He is capable of fighting inside or keeping it long, using his 72-inch reach. He is exceptionally tough, and it remains to be seen if Foster has the power to keep him off.

Foster is brilliant at moving out of range, controlling the distance and frustrating his opponents. He’s adept at feinting and drawing his opponents out, tagging them on their way in.

Throughout his career, we have seen Foster carry his power late into fights, and against Fulton and Ford, he showed his ability to dominate talented fighters. He’s a difficult fighter to face and is normally focused under pressure, but can he handle the pressure from Navarrete?

Looking at the attributes of both, this is a highly intriguing fight, but if Navarrete is in the same form as he was against Nunez, we are backing the Mexican to add another belt to his ever-growing collection.

Featured Image Credit:

Top Rank