Emanuel Navarrete Talks Fans and Wilder/Fury 2 Card
Even though he has only been a world champion for roughly a year and a half, WBO super bantamweight world champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (31-1, 27 KO’s) is quickly becoming a hit among the fans. Utilizing his straight ahead, high volume style, Navarrete made his first big splash with the boxing audience during his premiere title attempt against Isaac “Royal Storm” Dogboe (20-2, 14 KO’s).
At the time, it was Dogboe, a very fan-friendly fighter himself, who was the defending WBO super bantamweight champion. The prizefight began and remained competitive until the final rounds when Navarrete started to overpower and overwhelm the champion. The Royal Storm would hear the final bell but lost his title by unanimous decision.
Five months later they staged a rematch. Only this time it was more of a one-sided trouncing that saw Paul Dogboe, Isaac’s father and trainer, throw in the towel during the twelfth round. Including the successful first title defense, over the course of the next nine months, Navarrete made a whopping five title defenses.
FOR THE ROAR OF THE CROWD
Vaquero (which translates as ‘Cowboy’) firmly believes that his frenetic fight schedule is a large part of why the fans are drawn to him, as he explained during an exclusive interview with Top Rank.
“I believe that we have done a lot of good things in a short amount of time. I see it that way. The fans are used to watching me fight because I have been fighting constantly. I did five title defenses in nine months. That’s fighting every month and a half or every two months at the most. Seeing me fight constantly created that connection and love with the fans. I believe the fans appreciate that even if I could cruise to get a victory, I always try to knockout my opponents.”
CHECK ONE OFF THE BUCKET LIST
Navarrete is greatly appreciative of the fans and the support that they have extended to him. This is why it was such a notable and extreme honor for Navarrete to have competed on the recent Wilder v Fury 2 pay-per-view card.
“It was a dream come true for me. It was always one of my goals to fight in an event that big. But taking into consideration that I only have been champion for a year and I’ve already been part of such a big event as Wilder v Fury 2, I think it puts me in a great position in boxing. I feel happy because like I said, one of my goals was to fight in an event like that and I did after just a year as champion. That was iconic. I feel happy because that was my fifth title defense and I did it on pay-per-view.”
Given his track record and confessed train of thought, once we are past this global pandemic it’s very safe to say that Navarrete will be looking to stage a fight as soon as possible!
By: Bakari Simpson
