HARD-HITTING VOLUME PUNCHER EMANUEL NAVARRETE IS SCHEDULED TO DEFEND HIS NEWLY WON FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE AGAINST CHRISTOPHER DIAZ ON ESPN AND ESPN+.
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EMANUEL NAVARRETE (32-1, 27 KOs)
VS. CHRISTOPHER DIAZ (26-2, 16 KOs)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uzlw2j-7v8
- Date: Saturday, April 24
- Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Silver Spurs Arena, Kissimmee, Fla.
- TV/Stream: ESPN, ESPN+
- Cost: ESPN+: $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year
- Division: Featherweight
- At stake: Navarrete’s WBO title
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: NA
- Also on the card: Edgar Berlanga vs. Demond Nicholson, super middleweights; Josue Vargas vs. Willie Shaw, junior welterweights
- Prediction: Navarrete UD
- Background: Navarrete is coming off a close decision over previously unbeaten Ruben Villa to win his title last October, making him a two-division champion. Villa went down twice, which proved to be the difference in the scoring. The 26-year-old Mexican is a high-volume puncher with power. He had stopped his previous five opponents, not counting an unofficial fight during the coronavirus pandemic in Mexico. Navarrete has said he wants to unify the 126-pound titles. Diaz is a capable boxer-puncher who has fallen short in his biggest fights. The Puerto Rican, also 26, lost a wide decision in a competitive fight against Masayuki Ito for a vacant 130-pound title in 2018. Then, after moving down to 126, he was outclassed by Shakur Stevenson and lost another one-sided decision the following year. He’s coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Jason Sanchez last June. Super middleweight prospect Edgar Berlanga, facing Demond Nicholson, will be seeking his 17th first-round knockout in as many fights on the undercard.
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