By: Sean Crose
WBO super world featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete will be defending his title Saturday night against the undefeated Charly Suarez in San Diego. The fight, which will be broadcast live on ESPN, is scheduled for 12 championship rounds. Navarrete last fought in December when he stopped Oscar Valdez in six. Suarez was last spotted in September, where he stopped Jorge Castaneda in three. Although Navarrete had trouble making weight, he was finally able to get within the super featherweight limit, so the bout is a go. How much the struggle to make weight will or won’t impact Navarrete’s ring performance remains to be seen.
“My performance against Oscar Valdez was my way of showing that I’m now at 100 percent,” Navarrete has said, via CBS. “There’s no doubt about that now.” At thirty years of age, Navarrete has fought over forty times, which is notable by today’s standards. What’s more, he has only lost on two occasions (he also has a draw on his resume). After looking so impressive against Valdez last winter, Navarrete no doubt wants to continue looking “at 100 percent” this weekend. Suarez, however, may have something to say about that. This has the makings of being an interesting fight.