Emanuel Navarrete Still Uncertain On Leaving Featherweight Division
WBO featherweight champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (36-1, 30KO) will face Liam Wilson (11-1, 7KO) for the vacant WBO junior lightweight title on February 3. If victorious, he will need to pick which divisional belt keep.
Vaquero has struggled to make weight, as of late. On August 2022, the Mexican champion did not look good against challenger Eduardo Baez. After taking an early beating, he landed a punishing body shot that ended the fight in the sixth round.
NAVARRETE IS GOING TO WAIT BEFORE DECIDING
During the post-fight interview, Navarrete was not sure about leaving the featherweight division. While speaking with Izquierdazo, he made known he will wait until after the Wilson fight to decide on the next course of action.
“Let’s see how things evolve. We will see how I feel and then make the right decision. It all depends on how I perform in February and analyze the result. How my body assimilates the new weight class and things like that.”
“I was struggling a bit to make 126 pounds. After moving up to 130, I will need to know if I can still make 126, and then make a decision.”
THE WBO WILL DEMAND AN ANSWER
Struggling with weight is not a new situation for Navarrete. In 2018, he defeated Isaac Dogboe to capture the WBO super bantamweight title. After five successful title defenses, he had to say goodbye to the division and moved up to featherweight.
Keep in mind he won’t have very long to decide on what to do, as the WBO has a strict policy on fighters holding belts in different divisions. If they have not done so already, fans can expect the organization to issue a letter giving team Navarrete 10 days to make up his mind.
By: Bo Bland
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