Emanuel Navarrete and Denys Berinchyk will fight for the vacant WBO 135-pound title Saturday night at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
EMANUEL NAVARRETE (38-1-1, 31 KOs)
VS. DENYS BERINCHYK (18-0, 9 KOs)
- Date: Saturday, May 18
- Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Pechanga Arena, San Diego
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
- Division: Lightweight (135 pounds)
- At stake: Vacant WBO title
- Boxing Junkie Pound-for-pound: None
- Odds: Navarrete 5-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Significance (up to five stars): ****
- Also on the card: Giovani Santillan vs. Brian Norman Jr., welterweights
- Background: Navarrete is a former 122-pound titleholder who was given the opportunity to fight for the vacant WBO title even though he’s making his debut at the weight and is coming off a majority draw with Robson Conceicao at 130 in November. Navarrete delivered arguably his best performance in his previous fight, a one-sided decision over former champ Oscar Valdez last August. The 29-year-old is a durable boxer whose forte is volume punching. Berinchyk, a 36-year-old Ukrainian, will be fighting for a major title for the first time. The 2012 Olympic silver medalist earned his shot at the belt by easily outpointing Anthony Yigit on the Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel Dubois card last August.
- Prediction: Navarrete SD
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