Emanuel Navarrete returns to the junior lightweight division to defend a title that he had hoped to jettison, as he defends the WBO belt against Oscar Valdez in a rematch of their thrilling August 2023 war.
Since then Navarrete drew with Robson Conceicao and lost a split decision to Denis Berinchyk for the vacant WBO lightweight title, while Valdez nabbed the WBO interim belt with a seventh-round knockout of Liam Wilson, which most assumed would see Valdez elevated to the full title with Navarrete favored to win the lightweight title,
Their first fight was exciting and this one should be as well, the question is this- How motivated is Navarrete to return to the division to fight someone he has already beaten, and will the drop in weight drain the champion and cost him late in the fight?
In the co-feature, Rafael Espinoza will attempt to repeat his surprising win over Robeisy Ramirez in a rematch for the WBO featherweight title.
Espinoza entered their first fight unbeaten and untested and won a majority decision with both fighters scoring knockdowns.
The 6'1 Espinoza is extremely tall for a featherweight and holds a sizable advantage over the former gold medalist, Ramirez.
Ramirez did have distractions entering their first fight. His father, still in Cuba, was in serious condition, and he says he will be better prepared for the rematch.
This is an extremely close fight and I've been back and forth on my pick, it's that close.
Also on the card, unbeaten junior welterweight contender Lindolfo Delgado faces veteran Jackson Marinez and welterweight Giovani Santillan returns after his first defeat, losing via tenth-round knockout to Brian Norman for the then-vacant WBO title, against journeyman Fredrick Lawson.
DAZN takes the stage with a Matchroom card from Puerto Rico as IBF junior welterweight champion Liam Paro will defend the title against mandatory challenger Richardson Hitchens for the first time.
Paro upset Subriel Matias in June to win the title while Hitchens won a close unanimous decision over Gustavo Lemos in April to secure the mandatory position.
Unbeaten junior lightweight Henry Lebron returns from a thirteen-month layoff against former world title challenger Christopher Diaz in the co-feature.
Also from DAZN, a minor heavyweight title isn't the attraction but an evenly matched fight between two former title challengers past forty is , as Kubrat Pulev faces Mahmoud Charr in what could be fun or a bore.
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