Emanuel Navarrete

Emanuel Navarrete is one of the most accomplished lower-weight fighters. He currently reigns as the WBO super-featherweight champion and boasts a record as a three-division world champion.

Born on January 17, 1995, the man known as ‘Vaquero’ has won titles at super-bantamweight, featherweight, and super-featherweight. Navarrete also failed in an attempt to win a world title at lightweight.

With no amateur record to speak of, like so many pugilists from Mexico City, Navarrete turned professional extremely young. He finally got a world title shot in 2018 and has never looked back, becoming a favourite on ESPN, under his promoter Top Rank, due to his fan-friendly style.

Emanuel Navarrete turned professional in February 2012 and scored five consecutive knockout wins before suffering a controversial defeat in a regional tournament. In December 2018, Navarrete defeated WBO super-bantamweight champion Isaac Dogboe to become a world champion. In their rematch, six months later, Navarrete dropped Dogboe twice and stopped him in the 12th and final round.

Navarrete made four defences before moving up to featherweight, beating Ruben Villa to win the vacant WBO featherweight title in the Las Vegas bubble in October 2020. Following three defences, Navarrete moved up to win the vacant WBO super-featherweight title in February 2023, knocking out Liam Wilson. Two defences later, against Oscar Valdez and a draw with Robson Conceicao, Navarrete made an unsuccessful attempt at the lightweight title, losing to Denys Berinchyk via split decision on May 18, 2024.