Navarrete rested and ready to defend featherweight title against Baez
Welterweight Santillan, middleweight Ali Walsh featured on tripleheader
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From the time Emanuel Navarrete won a junior featherweight world title in December 2018 through his second defense as a featherweight titleholder last October, he was one of the most active top fighters in boxing.
Navarrete fought 10 times in less than three years even though for a chunk of that time the coronavirus pandemic was in full swing and slowed the schedules of many boxers.
Then things came to a halt. Since that defense last October, a punishing beat down of Joet Gonzalez in a unanimous decision win, Navarrete has been idle for 10 months.
The layoff was largely due to issues between him and Zanfer Promotions, which co-promotes him with Top Rank. But they have worked out their differences and Navarrete returns to action to defend the WBO featherweight crown for the third time when he meets Mexican countryman Eduardo Baez in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN tripleheader on Saturday (ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET) at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, the same venue where he defeated Gonzalez.
The fight is the first for Navarrete (35-1, 29 KOs), 27, since signing a new multi-year deal with Top Rank.
“I’m very happy to be returning after the layoff,” Navarrete said through an interpreter at the fight week news conference on Thursday. “We hope that my career is going on a good path so that I can keep growing in this new era with Top Rank.”
As excited as Navarrete is to be returning after the layoff he admitted the lack of activity has made it more difficult than usual to make the 126-pound weight limit.
“We had a great preparation. We’re going to be making a really good return. It is a bit hard to make the weight because of the time that we were away from the ring,” Navarrete said. “But aside from that, there’s nothing that worries me about being able to make this defense of my championship in excellent fashion.
“I think Baez is coming with a strong desire to win. He is very well conditioned, and that can make for a great fight. I’ve also prepared very well. We both want this world championship. I have it, but he wants to snatch it away from me. That can make for a great fight from the start. So, I think this fight will lend itself to being a great matchup. We hope that Baez comes out very strong, that we both last the 12 rounds and that we fight at a very high level.”
Depending how the weight cut goes — and the fight — Navarrete could be soon headed for the junior lightweight division, where Top Rank chairman Bob Arum has talked about his desire to match Navarrete with former featherweight and junior lightweight titlist Oscar Valdez in an all-Mexican battle that would likely be an extremely fan-friendly fight.
But first Navarrete has Baez to deal with and the challenger is confident.
“I’m very happy because we are fighting for a world title, which is the dream come true for any boxer,” Baez said through a translator. “We felt really good during our preparation, and we’re coming in great condition. We are very excited to be in this position.
“It’s an important fight for a world title. We’re coming double prepared. We are so happy to be fighting against a great champion like ‘El Vaquero.’ We thank him for the opportunity. We’ve come very prepared to snatch the title from him. I’ve seen it already. It’s very nice. He better not get careless because I’m going to snatch it away.”
Baez (21-2-2, 7 KOs), 26, dropped a majority decision to junior featherweight contender Ra’eese Aleem in November 2021 but rebounded for a majority decision over Jose Vivas on March 26 on a Top Rank undercard in Las Vegas.
Santillan vs. Luna
In the 10-round co-feature, San Diego welterweight Giovani Santillan will face Julio Luna, who is a replacement for original opponent Rodolfo Orozco.
“It’s exciting for me to be fighting in San Diego again,” Santillan said. “It’ll be my second time fighting at Pechanga Arena. It’s really a dream come true. Ever since I was an amateur, I’ve been dreaming about fighting in these big venues. To be on ESPN with Top Rank means everything to me. I’ve been working hard for this.”
Santillan (29-0, 16 KOs), 30, a southpaw, said he found motivation knowing he was facing an undefeated opponent.
“He’s an undefeated fighter like me. So, when you have something like that, it lights up a fire inside me to train extra hard,” Santillan said. “So, I’m ready. I’m ready for whatever he brings to the table.”
For Luna (19-0-2, 10 KOs), 24, of Mexico, the fight is a tremendous opportunity and his first time fighting outside of Mexico.
“This is the opportunity of my career,” he said. “My objective is to be world champion, and this is the opportunity that will open the path towards that in my career.
“You will all see the best Julio Luna of my career. This is my opportunity. I plan to leave everything in the ring so I can obtain the victory. I prepared very well. I am ready to win both mentally and physically.”
Ali Walsh vs. Sanchez II
In the four-round opener, Las Vegas middleweight Nico Ali Walsh, the grandson of Muhammad Ali, will face Reyes Sanchez in a rematch of their December 2021 bout that Ali Walsh (5-0, 4 KOs) won by majority decision, the only time he has heard the final bell.
“Honestly, I feel like there’s a lot to prove,” Ali Walsh, 22, said. “That was the start of my career. That was my third fight, and I have been improving beyond what everyone thought I could. It’s exciting that we get to do this, and I think I’ll have a good time. I truly think my last few fights have spoken for themselves, and it shows how hard I’ve been working.”
Sanchez (7-2, 3 KOs), 30, of Topeka, Kansas, was happy to accept the rematch.
“It’s not very often in life that you get a second chance. I’m glad it’s going through,” Sanchez said. “I’ve re-watched the fight plenty of times. I think I gave him a tougher fight than they were expecting. I expect the same thing Saturday night.”
The fight will be at the same venue, then known as the San Diego Sports Arena, where Muhammad Ali had one of his most famous fights, a March 1973 bout against Ken Norton, who broke Ali’s jaw and won by split decision in a major upset.
Photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
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