GLENDALE, Arizona -- Emanuel Navarrete didn’t need a faux commission scandal to make weight for his first title defense.

The reigning WBO junior lightweight beltholder, however, had to strip down to his birthday suit to make weight for his highly anticipated showdown versus Oscar Valdez. Navarrete was 130 pounds after initially coming in just over the limit at 130.1 for his scheduled twelve-round main event versus Valdez, who was a fight-ready 129.8 pounds in a bid to become a three-time titlist.

Their title fight headlines an ESPN telecast Saturday evening from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

The same venue saw Navarrete (37-1, 31KOs) survive his first career knockdown to drop and stop Australia’s Liam Wilson in the ninth round of an instant classic this past February 3. The fight was preceded by weigh-in drama, when a shockingly light Wilson insisted the scales were manipulated to better assist Navarrete to make weight.

Valdez (31-1, 23KOs) was supposed to face his countryman that evening but a pre-existing back-injury limited his role to spectator. San Juan Zitlaltepec’s Navarrete became a three-division titlist with the win over Wilson, having previously held the WBO 122- and 126-pound titles.

Now at full health, Valdez aims to enter his third title reign. The two-time Olympian from Nogales, Mexico previously held the WBO featherweight and WBC junior lightweight titles.

The latter reign ended in a lopsided defeat to Shakur Stevenson in their WBC/WBO unification bout last April 30 in Las Vegas. Valdez returned to the ring this past May 20 in a ten-round decision win over Adam ‘BluNose’ Lopez in a rematch to their November 2019 bout which marked Valdez’s junior lightweight debut.

ESPN main undercard (10:00 p.m. E.T./7:00 p.m. local time)

Lindolfo Delgado (17-0, 13KOs), Monterrey, Mexico, 140.7 pounds vs. Jair Valtierra (16-2, 8KOs), Leon, Mexico, 139.4 pounds—10 rounds, junior welterweight

Richard Torrez Jr. (5-0, 5KOs), Tulare, California, 235.4 pounds vs. Willie Jake Jr (11-3-2, 3KOs), Indianapolis, Indiana, 249.6 pounds—six rounds, heavyweight

ESPN+ preliminary undercard (8:00 p.m. E.T./5:00 p.m. local time)

Emiliano Vargas (5-0, 4KOs), Las Vegas via Oxnard, California, 134.8 pounds vs. Jorge Luis Marquez Alvarado (3-5-1, 2KOs), Muzquiz, Mexico, 133.7 pounds—4 rounds, lightweight

Antonio Mireles (7-0, 6KOs), Des Moines, Iowa, 270.7 pounds vs. Dajuan Calloway (7-2, 7KOs), Warrensville Heights, Ohio, 391.7 pounds—six rounds, heavyweight

Sergio Leon Rodriguez (7-0-1, 6KOs), Phoenix via Hermosillo, Mexico, 161 pounds vs. Eduardo Ayala (9-3-1, 3KOs), Phoenix via Sacramento, California, 160 pounds—six rounds, middleweight (161-pound limit)

Ricardo Ruvalcaba (9-0-1, 8KOs), Ventura, California, 141.6 pounds vs. Adrian Orban (6-3, 4KOs), Kecskemet, Hungary, 141 ½ pounds—six rounds, junior welterweight

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox