Boxing’s most active reigning titlist is set for the biggest stage of his young career.
Emanuel Navarrete was as calm for his grand arrival Tuesday afternoon in Las Vegas as he’s been in any of his five previous title fights to date. The 25-year old from San Juan Zitlaltepec, Mexico wore an ear-to-ear grin along a pair of sunglasses and a casual blue suit as he embraced his fans ahead of his junior featherweight title defense versus Philippines’ Jeo Santisima (19-2, 16KOs).
The bout serves on the preliminary undercard of a joint Pay-Per-View offering from ESPN and Fox Sports, headlined by the heavyweight rematch between defending titlist Deontay Wilder (42-0-1, 41KOs) and Tyson Fury (29-0-1, 20KOs) this Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I feel good. Mexico is in need of new superstars,” Navarrete (30-1, 26KOs) told ESPN’s Crystina Poncher. “Every fighter dreams of fighting on Pay-Per-View. I'm here to fill that role.”
Navarrete rides a 25-fight win streak into Saturday’s title defense versus Sanitisima, who carries a 17-fight win streak himself ahead of his first career title fight as well as his stateside debut.
For the defending titlist, it’s already the fifth title defense in 14 months since claiming the belt in a 12-round nod over then-unbeaten Isaac Dogboe in December 2018. The feat marked the lone distance fight for Navarrete during his current title reign, having scored four straight knockout wins in as many bouts in 2019.
Saturday’s fight marks his first of a 2020 campaign which he promises will be just as active while also setting his sights on fellow titlists Rey Vargas (34-0, 23KOs) and Murodjon Akhmadaliev (8-0, 6KOs).
“I'm thankful for the opportunity,” notes Navarrete. “I'm going to keep working hard and stay ready to fight as often as they need me in the ring.
“After I win on Saturday night, I will definitely aim for a unification bout. But we will weigh all our options and see what happens next.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
