Hard Hitting Emanuel Navarrete Seeks Another World Title

In San Diego, CA, on May 18, a hard-hitting Mexican star goes for another world title in another weight division, as  Emanuel Navarrete, 38-1-1, 31 KOs, returns to action in a 12-round showdown for the vacant WBO lightweight title against unbeaten Denys Berinchyk, 18-0, 9 KOs.

The bout will headline the ESPN/Top Rank Boxing show from the Pechanga Arena, with the coverage of the main card starting at 10 p.m. Eastern time (7 p.m. Pacific).

Navarrete comes to another weight division seeking a championship belt, which would be his fourth different weight class. Known as “Vaquero” (Cowboy), he’s risen to prominence with his hard-hitting style but is coming off a hard-fought draw with Brazilian Robson Conceicao last November. That bout snapped his 33-fight win streak dating back to 2012.

Emanuel Navarrete vs. Denys Berinchyk Preview

Final Words in Advance

On Thursday afternoon in Southern California, Navarrete and Berinchyk met with the media – one final time. The former WBO 130 lb. champion had this to say,

“Just having the opportunity to add a new title in a new division, it’s something that I never thought of. It’s something that I never dreamed of. It’s something new and achieving it would fulfill a personal goal. It will enrich my personal achievements, and it will make me satisfied with what I’ve done in my career.”

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“Each fight is different. Each opponent is different. Denys is an Olympian. He has a lot of experience in boxing. That’s the part we have to defeat. That’s the hardest part on Saturday. However, we always work the same. We always strengthen certain things that have been seen as weak in previous fights. But we always put a lot of energy into each training camp. We always have that mentality to work at 100 percent, and this camp wasn’t the exception. We worked hard, and Saturday will be a great fight night for all those watching at Pechanga Arena.”

Navarrete is looking towards a lucrative pay-day down the road at 135 lb. and potentially could fight unbeaten U.S. Star Shakur Stevenson late in 2024 or early next year.

Read More: Emanuel Navarrete Wins Slugfest Against Óscar Valdez

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian challenger, who’s only had two fights in the last two and half years knows, he will be in for a tough night with Navarrete, who had won 12 straight title bouts until the Conceicao draw. He said briefly, Thursday,

“I’m happy for Emanuel that he was the king in three divisions, but this is my division. You will see a great, exciting fight on Saturday night.”

Top Welterweight Leads Undercard

The co-feature for Top Rank is a 12-round welterweight battle with hometown unbeaten fighter Giovani Santillan, 32-0, 17 KOs, taking on another unbeaten fighter in Brian Norman, 25-0, 19 KOs, in a fight that will now be for the vacant WBO interim world title. A belt that is expected to be fully vacated by Terence Crawford. Santillan, off a career-defining KO of previously unbeaten Alexis Rocha last October, is looking to become only the second San Diego-born world champ in boxing history, joining former junior middleweight world champ, Paul Vaden in 1995.

Former U.S. Olympic Silver Medalist and unbeaten prospect heavyweights Richard Torrez, 9-0, 9 KOs, will fight arguably his most competent opponent to date in his career in Brandon Moore, 14-0, 8 KOs, in an eight-rounder that will be part of the undercard. As his record indicates – Torrez has shown tremendous KO capability against lesser opponents.