Tag: Emanuel Navarrete

Emanuel Navarrete scores brutal sixth-round knockout in Mexico City

Emanuel Navarrete broke down and stopped Uriel Lopez in the sixth round Saturday at the TV Azteca Studios in Mexico City.

It takes a while for Emanuel Navarrete to get rolling. Once he does, though, you don’t want to be the guy standing across from him.

Navarrete did what everyone expected him to do on Saturday night at the TV Azteca Studios in Mexico City, which was to stop overmatched Uriel Lopez in a non-title fight with no spectators because of the coronavirus. And the long, powerful 122-pound champion did it in brutal fashion.

The Mexico City native unleashed a torrent of hard, damaging shots in the sixth and final round, putting a badly beaten Lopez down on all fours and giving the referee no choice but to stop the onslaught. The official time was 2:22.

Navarette (32-1, 27 KOs) has now scored six consecutive knockouts since he outpointed Isaac Dogboe to win his title in December 2018.

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Lopez (13-14-1, 6 KOs) was game until the moment the fight ended. The journeyman, also from Mexico City, was competitive in the first few rounds as the much taller Navarette was finding his rhythm and range.

He found both by the third round, when he shifted into a higher gear, picked up his punch rate and began to beat the stuffing out of his poor opponent.

Navarrete put Lopez down with a body shot a little over a minute into Round 5 and then, the second Lopez got to his feet, pounded him from every conceivable angle. To his credit, Lopez showed impressive resilience … until Round 6, that is.

It seemed as if Navarrete had an appointment for which he was late in the final round. He wanted out of there. And did what it took to get that accomplished, firing shots to the body and head at a rate that broke Lopez down. The big blow was a straight right to the stomach, followed by a left hook.

Lopez fell to his hands and knees, with his head hanging. He was done.

“I have the utmost respect for Uriel Lopez. He put forth a courageous effort, but I was coming to win by knockout,” Navarrete said.

What’s next for the winner?

Well, don’t expect him to rest for long. The victory over Loppez was Navarrete’s sixth fight in 13 months, which is unheard of for a titleholder. The man likes to keep busy.

The question is who will he face and at what weight. He has difficulty making 122 but said he’d like to unify the titles before moving up to 126. That means he’d have to fight either Murodjon Akhmadaliev, who holds two belts after outpointing Daniel Roman in January, or Rey Vargas. Akhmadaliev’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has expressed interest in a showdown.

“I want to unify titles,” he said, “but if nobody accepts my challenge, I’ll move up to featherweight.”

The elite 126-pounders are on notice.

In preliminaries, Edwin Palomares (13-3-1, 4 KOs) scored an upset by stopping Carlos Ornelas (25-3, 14 KOs) in the fifth round of a scheduled 10-round junior lightweight bout.

Palomares overwhelmed Ornelas with relentless aggression, barely giving his more-experienced opponent room to breathe. In the final round, Palomares landed what seemed to be a grazing body shot but Ornelas took a knee. At that moment, one of Ornelas’ cornerman signaled that his fighter had taken enough and the fight was stopped.

Palomares literally pounded the fight out of Ornelas to record the biggest victory of the 24-year-old Mexico City resident’s career.

Also, Sergio Sanchez (15-1, 9 KOs) gave an impressive performance against Alan Pina (8-3, 5 KOs) in a scheduled eight-round featherweight bout, stopping Pina with one punch in the opening seconds of Round 3.

Sanchez put Pina down with a left hook in the final moments of Round 1 and landed a number of hard, accurate shots in Round 2, which was only a prelude of what was to come. Pina was moving forward when Sanchez landed a perfect left uppercut, rendering Pina unconscious the moment the punch landed.

Pina lay motionless on his back for several minutes but was able to get up. The official time was six seconds into the round.

And Armando Garcia (6-0, 3 KOs) survived a cut in the fourth round to outpoint Roberto Palomares (5-5-1, 1 KO) in a six-round junior bantamweight fight between Mexico City residents. The scores were 59-55, 59-55 and 59-56.

The card was the first in Mexico since the pandemic took hold.

Emanuel Navarrete is back at it Saturday in Mexico City

Junior featherweight champ Emanuel Navarrete faces Uriel Lopez in a non-title bout Saturday in Mexico City.

Emanuel Navarrete doesn’t like idleness. Five fights last year is evidence of that. And who could blame him? Good things happen then the 25-year-old Mexican steps into the ring.

Navarrete made his breakthrough in December 2018 at Madison Square Garden, where he challenged rising junior featherweight titleholder Isaac Dogboe in his first fight outside Mexico. When it was over, his career had changed completely.

The 5-foot-7 Navarrete used his considerable height and reach advantage to pick apart the short, squat Dogboe and win a unanimous decision and the title even though he injured his right hand early in the fight.

“The best man won tonight,” Dogboe said graciously afterward.

***

ON SATURDAY

Who: Emanuel Navarrete (31-1, 27 KOs) vs. Uriel Lopez (13-13-1, 6 KOs), 10 rounds, junior lightweights
Where: TV Azteca Studios, Mexico City
TV: ESPN and ESPN Deportes (8 p.m. ET)

***

Navarrete was even better in the rematch five months later in Tucson, Arizona. He outworked Dogboe, put him down twice and stopped him in the 12th and final round to retain his 122-pound title. A new, young Mexican star had arrived.

“To all the fighters at 122 pounds,” he said immediately after the knockout, “I tell them that if they want my title, then they can come and try and take it.”

Well, four fighters – Francisco De Vaca, Juan Miguel Elorde, Franansico Horta and Jeo Santisima – gave that a try last year and none of them survived to hear the final bell. The fact he made five title defenses (including the Dogboe rematch) in one year is unheard of these days. The fact he won all five by KO is just downright impressive.

Next up is countryman Uriel Lopez, who will face Navarrete in a non-title junior lightweight – both weighed in at 127 pounds — bout Saturday night at the TV Azteca Studios in Mexico City on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

Emanuel Navarrete has won 26 consecutive fights. Photo / Zanfer Promotions

Some champions have expressed reticence to fight in an empty venue, which is required because of the coronavirus pandemic. Not Navarrete. He is going places quickly. And the only way to do that is to fight. A lot.

“He’s a real warrior and he loves nothing better than to fight,” Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said during his 2019 run. “And he doesn’t care who the opponent is. He’s going to go in and fight.”

Navarrete probably won’t stay at 122 much longer but has said he wants to unify the titles against either Murodjon Akhmadaliev, who holds two belts after outpointing Daniel Roman in January, or Rey Vargas. Akhmadaliev’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has expressed interest in a showdown.

After that? No one is safe. He has an eye on featherweight and junior lightweight stars Shakur Stevenson, Josh Warrington, Leo Santa Cruz and Oscar Valdez.

“Including the belt I have right now at junior featherweight, I want to conquer two more divisions,” Navarrete said. “That’s what I see myself in three to five years, becoming a three-division champion.”

Four boxing cards planned for Mexico next month

Zanfer Promotions is planning to stage four boxing cards in Mexico next month, ESPN reported.

Zanfer Promotions is planning to stage four boxing cards in Mexico next month, ESPN reported.

Titleholders Miguel Berchelt, Emanuel Navarrete and Elwin Soto, as well as Luis Nery, are among those expected to get back in the ring. No spectators will attend the events and other precautions will be taken because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We plan on doing it in June,” said Fernando Beltran of Zanfer. “We’ll have a really active schedule behind closed doors. We’re working on final details so that we can make a formal announcement.”

No opponents have been selected for the titleholders, who aren’t expected to defend their belts, according to ESPN. However, Zanfer has assigned fighters to particular dates. June 6, Navarrete and Pedro Campa; June 13, Omar Aguilar and Jackie Nava; June 20, Nery and Alan David Picasso; June 27, Berchelt and Soto.

A studio set of the Mexican TV network Azteca is one site being considered, ESPN reported.

“I think we’re all thirsty for Mexican talent and live fights,” Beltran said. “We’re going through with live fights, and I think we have the opportunity to do something huge. I will tell our fans that I’m a man dedicated to this sport I so love and more than anything dedicated to our fans who have provided us with so many moments of glory.”

Emanuel Navarrete dominates, stops Jeo Santisima in 11

Emanuel Navarrete may not be long at junior featherweight, but he defended his title with an 11th-round TKO of Jeo Santisima.

In his fifth fight in nearly nine months, junior featherweight titleholder Emanuel Navarrete appeared sluggish at times against Jeo Santisima on the Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury II card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. But the 25-year-old Mexican outworked the Filipino challenger and eventually stopped him in the 11th round of with a barrage of unanswered combinations.

Navarrete, one of the more active titleholders in the sport, started out slow and seemed to grow fatigued in the middle rounds, but he laid down a considerable beating of Santisima. Navarrete had Santisima hurt in Round 5, but took the next round off. There also appeared to be an issue with Navarette’s right hand, which he explained afterward was the result of a slight injury.

“I hurt him weirdly with my right hand and hurt my thumb but I had to plough through it,” Navarrete (31-1, 27 KOs) said.

Navarrete turned it up in Round 10, tagging Santisima (19-3, 16 KOs) with strafing punches from pillar to post. Referee Russell Mora stopped the bout at 2:27 of Round 11.

There have been whispers that Navarrete may look to move up to the featherweight division for his next fight.

Also on the undercard, junior middleweight Sebastian Fundora may be a physical freak of nature, but he is still clearly very much a a work progress. The six-foot-six prospect was tested by Aussie Daniel Lewis in a scheduled 10-rounder en route to a unanimous decision win.

Scores were 97-93, 98-92, and 99-91.

Lewis was outmatched from the start, but he succeeded in making the fight a phonebooth affair, thus partially negating Fundora’s remarkable height. Lewis landed overhand rights and left hooks that had Fundora bleeding from the nose in Round 2.


“I don’t want to make excuses, but I had the flu,” Fundora (14-0-1, 9 KOs) said afterward. “That’s why my nose bled.”

Still, it was Fundora who controlled the action and landed the harder shots. He consistently landed the right uppercut as Lewis (6-1, 4 KOs) tried to bulldoze his way inside. By the mid rounds, a purple mouse was visible under his right eye.

In a mild upset, Javier Molina (22-2, 9 KOs) outpointed Amir Imam (21-3, 18 KOs) over eight rounds in a junior welterweight bout.

Scores were 79-73, 78-74, and 78-74.

It was a closely contest bout, but Molina, who fought primarily off the backfoot, was a bit craftier. Imam showed little creativity on offense as he simply walked towards Molina trying to land his right hand.

For nearly seven rounds, welterweight Subriel Matias had his way with Petros Ananyan, landing one thudding  power shots after another. A stoppage seemed imminent. But in the waning moments of Round 7, Ananyan, bruised and bloodied, connected on four consecutive overhand rights and then a left hook that sent Matias reeling into the ropes. Referee Robert Byrd issued a standing eight count, and just like that, the scheduled 10-rounder instantly turned. Matias never truly recovered, as Ananyan, the decided underdog, pushed the pace en route to a unanimous decision upset.

Judges scored it 96-93, 95-94, and 95-94, all for Ananyan (15-2-2, 7 KOs).

This was just the third bout for Matias (15-1, 15 KOs) since his tragic bout against the late Maxim Dadashev, who passed from ring injuries sustained during that fight.

Emanuel Navarrete to defend against Jeo Santisima on Wilder-Fury II card

The tireless Emanuel Navarrete will appear on the pay-per-view card featuring Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder II on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas.

The first of Emanuel Navarrete’s plan for four more fights in 2020 is scheduled for a card that promises to provide momentum for the junior featherweight champion’s pursuit of a unified title and further stardom.

The tireless Navarrete, who put busy back into boxing last year, will appear on the pay-per-view card featuring Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder II on Feb. 22 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, Top Rank announced.

Navarrete (30-1, 26 KOs) will face Filipino Jeo Santisima (19-2, 16 KOs) in defense of a 122-pound belt he won in an upset decision over Isaac Dogboe Dec. 8, 2018 in New York. The card also will include Charles Martin (27-2-1, 24 KOs), a former heavyweight champion, against Gerald Washington (20-3-1, 13 KOs).

Navarrete, of Mexico City, went on to defend the belt four times in 2019, including a stoppage of Dogboe in a rematch May 11 in Tucson, Arizona.

“I am motivated to make my fifth defense in less than a year and especially because I’m proud to be part of a historic card headlined by Wilder vs. Fury II,” Navarrete said.

The 5-foot-7 Navarrete figures to move up to featherweight, perhaps later in the year. First, however, he says he wants to unify the junior featherweight titles.

Two of the 122-pound belts changed hands Thursday night. Murodjon Akhmadaliev, a 2016 Olympian from Uzbekistan, took them from Daniel Roman by a split decision in Miami.

Rey Vargas holds the fourth junior featherweight belt.

Follow Norm Frauenheim on Twitter at @FrauenheimNorm

 

Murodjon Akhmadaliev outpoints Daniel Roman to win titles in eighth fight

Emanuel Navarrete maintains his momentum, winning fifth fight of year

Moments after he scored a fourth-round stoppage of Francisco Horta on Saturday, Emanuel Navarrete was already thinking about next year,

Emanuel Navarrete continues to put busy back in the game, closing out one year with his fifth fight within 12 months on a furious pace that has taken him from anonymity to emerging stardom.

What’s next?

More of the same, says Navarrete, a junior featherweight who is as ambitious as he is inexhaustible.

Moments after he scored a fourth-round stoppage of Francisco Horta on Saturday night in Puebla, Mexico, Navarrete was already thinking about next year, a New Year on the calendar and an extension of the momentum he created for himself in 2019.

He won four-title defenses after his upset of Isaac Dogboe last Dec. 8 in New York. After taking the title from Dogboe, he fought once in spring, twice in summer and once in winter. He missed autumn, but maybe that’s one of his resolutions for 2020. He has as many fights in him as there are seasons.

“I want to continue improving,’’ Navarrete (30-1, 26 KOs) said after he overcame a slow start and overwhelmed Horta (20-3-1, 10 KOs), a fellow Mexican, with a blitz of punches from virtually every angle for a TKO victory at 2:09 of the fourth.

Options are plentiful.

Emanuel Navarrete’s stoppage of Francisco Horta was his fifth victory of the year. Zanfer Promotions

At 5-foot-7, the 24-year-old Navarrete has talked about moving up to featherweight. But he has also been mentioned as a possibility for Naoya Inoue, a pound-for-pound contender and a unified bantamweight champion after his decision over Nonito Donaire on Nov. 7 in Japan. The deal would be easy to make. Both are aligned with Top Rank, which signed Inoue last month.

Navarrete also has said he wants to unify the 122-pound title. That appears to be the immediate plan. Top Rank’s Bob Arum has talked about Rey Vargas and Daniel Roman, both belt-holders. Vargas is tied to Golden Boy Promotions. Roman has a deal with Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn.

“2020 will be even better,’’ Navarrete said.

Maybe even busier, too.

On the Navarrete-Horta undercard, Filipino left-hander Jerwin Ancajas (32-1-2, 22 KOs) continued his junior bantamweight reign, winning his eighth successive title defense with a sixth-round stoppage of Miguel Gonzalez (31-2, 8 KOs).

“I want to unify titles,” said Ancajas, who hopes for a shot at Juan Francisco Estrada in 2020.

In the opening bout on the ESPN+ telecast, featherweight and lightweight title challenger Miguel Marriaga (29-3, 24 KOs) of Colombia overcame some rocky moments in the early rounds for a sixth-round stoppage of Mexican Alfredo Meija (14-3-3, 5 KOs).

 

 

Jerwin Ancajas to defend his title against Chilean Miguel Gonzalez

Junior bantamweight titleholder Jerwin Ancajas will defend his belt against Miguel Gonzalez of Chile on December 7 in Puebla, Mexico.

Filipino junior bantamweight Jerwin Ancajas has been training and waiting, all in the hopes of getting another chance to defend his title for an eighth time.

His patience paid off this week. Ancajas (31-1-2, 21 knockouts) will defend his 115-pound belt against Miguel Gonzalez (31-2, 8 KO) of Chile on December 7 in Puebla, Mexico on a Top Rank card featuring another title fight, junior featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete versus Francisco Horta.

The card will be streamed on on ESPN+.

Ancajas had been scheduled to fight Mexican Jonathan Rodriguez on November 2 at Carson, California. But the bout was canceled when Rodriguez was unable to acquire a visa.

“I am ready to defend my world title in front of the great Mexican fans,” said Ancajas, who has held his title since a unanimous decision over McJoe Arroyo on Sept. 3, 2016 in the Philippines. “Since my fight against Rodriguez was canceled, I’ve stayed in America to train. I am in fantastic shape. Gonzalez is a worthy challenger and has beaten good opposition to earn this title shot.”

Gonzalez has fought all but one of his fights in Chile. In his only bout outside of home country, he lost a unanimous decision to Paul Butler in the U.K. on Sept. 21, 2013. He was stopped by Australian Andrew Moloney in a title eliminator on March 22.

Emanuel Navarrete eager to add to an already remarkable 2019

Emanuel Navarrete will fight for the fifth time in 12 months when he defends his title against Francisco Horta on December 7 in Mexico.

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.

Emanuel Navarrete (left) begins his celebration after stopping Juan Miguel Elorde in September. David Becker / Getty Images

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.