Navarrete vs. Wilson Preview
Glendale, Arizona will host a dynamic title fight as the vacant WBO junior lightweight title will be on the line Friday, February 3rd. WBO featherweight champion Emanual Navarrete will battle Liam Wilson in what is expected to be a powerful high-action battle.
Navarrete (36-1, 30 KO) has not lost since 2012 and most recently defeated Eduardo Baez in August by sixth round KO for his third straight title defense of the WBO featherweight title. The Mexican fighter is a two-division champion having also held the WBO junior featherweight title from 2018 to 2020.
There have been many questions about what the 28-year-old will do should he win on Friday. Even the long reigning champion is not sure what will be next. “I’m still undecided on what we’re going to do after this fight,” Navarrete said. “Before my last fight, we decided that if I can’t get a unification at featherweight that we would look at winning a world title at 130.”
“This opportunity presented itself so we are taking it but I also [stressed] that I wanted to keep my featherweight title and see what happens in this fight.”
Most of the questions have been about Navarrete making 126 pounds in the future as he had trouble making the weight for his last fight. He is confident he will make the right decision based on the results of his current fight. “After this fight, we will see how I feel,” said Navarrete. “Right now, with the hard work we’ve put in, making 130 won’t be a problem and I feel like I can still make 126. Let’s see how things go in this fight.”
He concluded, "God willing we get the win and become WBO [130-pound] champion, then we will decide whether to stay and defend that title or give it up and return to 126 where I am still the champion.”
Navarrete has key wins in his career over Joet Gonzalez, Christopher Diaz, Ruben Villa, Francisco Horta, Juan Miguel Elorde. Francisco De Vaca and Isaac Dogboe (twice). Becoming a three-weight world champion will rise his stock even further and perhaps he will finally get a unification bout which he has eagerly been waiting for since becoming a champion in 2018.
Wilson (11-1, 7 KO) will be fighting for his first major title and is entering the fight as a +900 underdog. The Australian fighter does not mind the lofty odds against him. “It’s crazy man,” Wilson said.
“It’s just around the corner. I haven’t done it yet. That’s the last job I’ve got to do. I’ve done the hard work in training.
“I’ve got a fight to win and that’s to become world champion. It’s been a dream of mine for many years. I made a promise to my dad when I was a young kid that I’d be world champion for him one day.”
The 26-year-old continued, “It’s been an emotional rollercoaster because I feel like I have a lot to live up to in that way. But I’ve been working very hard for it and I’m going to win this fight.
“It's the pinnacle of professional boxing. It feels pretty surreal at times as well. I lay in bed thinking about it and wow.”
Wilson believes he knows what tactics it will take to defeat Navarrete. “I’m picturing in my head he’s going to be lunging forward with his uppercut. I feel like technically he’s pretty flawed and I have to catch him when he comes in. Either way it’s going to be a good fight but the left hook will be there ready to go.”
The underdog is aware of what kind of opponent Navarrete represents. “I know he’s a dangerous opponent. He’s been undefeated for 10 years. That’s a pretty long reign for a champion and he’s very experienced. He’s been in these fights many times before. “In that sense I’m up against it. He’s very unorthodox. He’s dangerous with his lead hand, his uppercut.”
A win for Wilson will be one of the biggest upsets of 2023 and will shake things up at 130 pounds. If he can win in devastating fashion, it will announce the presence of another true power-puncher in the division, but the talks of a unification bout will have to wait until there is an IBF champion named first.
The main card can be seen on ESPN +
