Emanuel Navarrete was granted ‘Super Champion’ status by the sanctioning body whose titles he has held for nearly five consecutive years.
The three-division and reigning WBO junior lightweight titlist was approved to receive the special distinction in a ruling released Friday. The sanctioning body voted unanimously in his favor, one week after receiving his request.
“The request is hereby granted to designate Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete as “WBO Super Champion” status in the WBO Jr. Lightweight Division,” WBO Championship Committee chairman Luis Batista-Salas stated in a ruling obtained by BoxingScene.com
Mexico’s Navarrete (38-1, 31KOs) is coming off his most notable win to date, a twelve-round, unanimous decision over countryman and former two-division titlist Oscar Valdez (31-2, 23KOs). Their August 12 ESPN headliner at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona saw the 28-year-old San Juan Zitlaltepec native turn their anticipated Fight of the Year contender into a showcase performance which he won by scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112.
The win saw Navarrete extend his current 33-fight win streak which dates back to December 2012. He is now 12-0 (7KOs) in title fights at junior featherweight, featherweight and junior lightweight. He moved up earlier this year but had to climb off the canvas to drop and stop Australia’s Liam Wilson in the ninth round of their February 3 vacant WBO 130-pound title fight also at Desert Diamond Arena.
Section 14 of the WBO rules covers the ‘Super Champion’ criteria, for which Navarrete is within range of several requirements. His alignment with Top Rank has seen all of his title fights carry ESPN affiliation, whether on its main network, its ESPN+ streaming service or on its Pay-Per-View arm. All 12 career title fights have come with the WBO title at stake and the win over Valdez bolstered his claim for facing “opponents of high recognition and high skills.”
Among the benefits afforded a WBO Super Champion is the flexibility to extend the period between mandatory title defenses and the freedom to pursue more significant and legacy-defining fights. The designation also allows its claimants to petition for immediate mandatory challenger status in another weight division, or even their own in the event they lose the physical WBO title in the ring or through other means.
Navarrete is currently due to make his second title defense versus Robson Conceicao on November 16 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show is headlined by the Shakur Stevenson-Edwin De Los Santos vacant WBC lightweight title fight.
With a win on this show, Navarrete can now maneuver to request immediate mandatory placement at lightweight in a bid to become a four-division titlist.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
