Emanuel Navarrete is close enough to finalizing terms for a unification bout to where the WBO is willing to wait.
But not for very long.
Talks are ongoing in the tangled web for Navarrete to face countryman Eduardo Nunez in a WBO/IBF 130lbs unification bout, while he remains on the hook to honor a rematch with Charly Suarez. The matter was addressed on Thursday, at which point a 15-day extension was granted during the ratings portion of the WBO’s 38th annual convention in Bogota, Colombia.
“We are currently in negotiations for a unification bout with… Nunez and Matchroom [Boxing, Nunez’s co-promoter along with BXSTRS Promotions],” Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti informed the WBO officials. “We hoped to put that fight on in the very early part of 2026.
“In order to put that fight on, we have to satisfy [the rights of] Charly Suarez, for which we are in negotiations as well. They are going accordingly. Hopefully, within two weeks we can have a firmer plan.”
WBO officials unanimously voted to allow Top Rank, Matchroom and BXSTRS to continue talks, with a November 14 deadline set to reach a deal. The issue is not between the boxers, but more so providing a satisfactory step-aside package for the Philippines’ Suarez, 18-0 (10 KOs).
WBO president Gustavo Olivieri called for the status update when he addressed Navarrete-Suarez II, a fight which the sanctioning body was prepared to order in June.
Mexico’s Navarrete, 39-2-1 (32 KOs) was initially granted a technical decision win in their May 10 WBO 130lbs title fight, when a cut suffered by the three-division titlist forced the end of their ESPN headliner. Referee Edward Collantes ruled that the cut was caused by a headbutt, which prompted the decision to go to the scorecards where all three judges ahead Navarrete ahead (77-76, 77-76, 78-75).
Suarez’s team immediately appealed the verdict, as they correctly pointed out that a punch and not a clash of heads caused the wound. Had the right call been made in the ring, Suarez would have won the WBO 130lbs title via technical knockout and enjoyed greater leverage in a rematch.
A review of the fight conducted by the California State Athletic Commission ruled in favor of Suarez’s appeal, though the outcome was nullified and changed to a No-Contest. The WBO then stepped in to order an immediate rematch, though the process has been anything but that.
The call for the fight came at a time when Top Rank’s years-long TV rights deal with ESPN was coming to an end. Their seven-year partnership ceased following a July 26 show, leaving the company without a platform to stage any significant events.
Shortly thereafter, the respective teams for Navarrete and Nunez, 29-1 (27 KOs) huddled up to piece together an attractive all-Mexico, two-belt clash. While talks have been fruitful,
Nunez claimed the IBF title in a May 28 unanimous decision victory over Masanori Rikiishi on the road in Yokohama, Japan.
The bout marked the first time that the 28-year-old won a fight by any means other than a knockout. It was a feeling that immediately resurfaced in his first title defense, a 12-round, unanimous decision over Christopher Diaz on September 6 in his hometown of Los Mochis, Mexico.
Neither Navarrete nor Suarez have fought since their May 10 meeting.
Navarrete has previously held titles at 122lbs and 126lbs. He claimed the WBO junior lightweight title in February 2023 and has made four successful defenses. However, he has just two wins over that period. Both came against former two-division titlist Oscar Valdez, whom he outpointed in August 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. Their December 2024 rematch took place in nearby Phoenix, where Navarrete scored a brutally one-sided sixth round stoppage.
The other two defenses came in a November 2023 draw with Robson Conceicao and the abovementioned No-Contest with Suarez. Navarrete also dropped a split decision to then-unbeaten WBO 135lbs titlist Denys Berinchyk last May in a failed bid to become a four-division titlist.
