Navarrete Unifies 130lb Titles
Emanuel Navarrete stopped Eduardo Nunez to unify titles at 130lbs, dominating with clean shots and body work on February 28. The victory makes Navarrete a unified champion in the competitive super featherweight division. Current titleholder O'Shaquie Foster attended the fight and wants the winner for further unification.
Emanuel "Vaquero" Navarrete's victory was his first title unification bout in a career that has seen him win world championships in three different weight classes. He previously held the WBO titles at junior featherweight and featherweight, making five successful defenses of his junior featherweight crown before moving up. The fight against Eduardo Nunez was a clash of two Mexican champions at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. For Nunez, the loss was the first of his professional career as a world champion, ending his reign as the IBF titleholder which he won by defeating Masanori Rikiishi in Japan. Nunez entered the fight with a formidable 93% knockout ratio. The super featherweight division now has two unified champions: Navarrete holding the WBO and IBF belts, and the remaining major titleholder being WBC champion O'Shaquie Foster. Foster was in attendance for the Navarrete-Nunez fight and has been vocal about his desire to face the winner to further unify the 130-pound division. A potential showdown between Navarrete and Foster would pit Navarrete's high-volume, aggressive style against Foster's technical and defensive skills. Foster, known as "Ice Water," recently reclaimed his WBC title in a rematch against Robson Conceição and also holds a win over Stephen Fulton. He has already stated he believes Navarrete has more elements to his game than Nunez and would be the bigger fight opportunity.
