Emanuel Navarrete continues to put busy back into boxing with his fifth fight within 12 months, a junior featherweight title defense against Francisco Horta on December 7 in Puebla, Mexico on ESPN+.
Navarrete, perhaps the biggest breakout star in 2019, talked as if he were ready to fight tomorrow. But he’ll have to wait a few weeks.
“I already want to get in the ring,” Navarrete said this week in Puebla during a news conference announcing the bout. “I am a professional in every regard. I am training very hard. I paid the price to win this championship.’’
It’s been a breathtaking ascent from just another name to stardom for Navarrete (29-1, 25 knockouts) since he upset Isaac Dogboe by a unanimous decision to win a 122-pound belt last December 8 in New York.
On May 11, he scored a 12th-round stoppage of Dogboe in a rematch in Tucson, Arizona. On Aug. 17, he knocked out Francisco de Vaca in Los Angeles. And on Sept. 14, he stopped Juan Miguel Elorde in Las Vegas.
Take a deep breath because the fast track is expected to lead to a jump in weight. Navarette, of Mexico City, has already talked about moving up the scale from 122 pounds to 126. But, first, he says all of his inexhaustible energy and power will be focused on Horta (20-3-1, 10 KOs) of Cancun.
“I always go for the knockout,” said Navarrete, who will make a fourth title defense within seven months on a busy day dominated by the Andy Ruiz Jr.-Anthony Joshua heavyweight rematch in Saudi Arabia.