Emanuel Navarrete vs Eduardo Nunez: Teddy Atlas makes his pick

On February 28, at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Emanuel Navarrete vs Eduardo Nunez headlines a Matchroom Boxing event in association with Top Rank. The entire card will stream live on DAZN, with Navarrete’s WBO title and Nunez’s IBF super featherweight title on the line.

Ahead of this unification showdown, Teddy Atlas has made his pick for Navarrete vs Nunez via his The Ropes community.

Teddy Atlas makes his pick for Emanuel Navarrete vs Eduardo Nunez

Nunez (29-1, 27 KOs) was last seen in action, defeating Christopher Diaz-Velez, having to survive some awkward moments to retain his title. His heavy hands and constant pressure make him a nightmare to face, which has helped him build an impressive KO record. 

Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) had his controversial no-contest against Charly Suarez in his last fight, but did score an impressive stoppage win against Oscar Valdez in the fight before that.

This is an intriguing fight, with Nunez an impressive body puncher against the awkward Navarrete, who is difficult to pin down. Nunez works well off his jab and can fight inside and outside. He picks his punches well, but surely Navarrete will look to keep the fight long. Both fighters can be hurt, but “Vaquero” will look to use his experience and keep Nunez second-guessing his own work. If Navarrete can unsettle “Sugar,” it could play into the hands of the WBO champion. 

To The Ropes community, Atlas summarised the fight as “The experience, heart, reach and awkward style (Navarrete) vs the stronger, straighter puncher and fresher but one dimensional (Nunez).”

Revealing his pick, Atlas wrote:

“I lean to the younger Nunez but won’t pull the trigger or lay the odds of -225 here because of Navarrete’s ability to use his legs and possibly keep the slow-footed Nunez off balance while scoring.”

“Again, I favor Nunez,” added Atlas.

Navarrete vs Nunez full fight card

• Emanuel Navarrete vs Eduardo Nunez, 12 rounds, WBO/IBF super featherweight unification
• Tahmir Smalls vs Abel Ramos, 10 rounds, welterweights
• Arturo Cardenas vs Jordan Martinez, 10 rounds, super bantamweights
• Emiliano Vargas vs Agustin Quintana, 10 rounds, super lightweights
• Trini Ochoa vs Oscar Alvarez, 8 rounds, super lightweights
• Phillip Vela vs Brayan Ramos Armenta, 6 rounds, bantamweights
• Hector Beltran Jr vs TBA, 6 rounds, super welterweights
• Rahman Muhammad vs Mitchell Mcfadden 4 rounds, welterweights

Stay with Big Fight Weekend for coverage of Navarrete vs Nunez, including results and video highlights, and post-fight analysis.

Featured Image Credit:

Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc