EDDIE HEARN has maintained his desire to deliver a mouth-watering unification showdown between super-featherweight world champions Emanuel Navarrete and Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez.
The potential all-Mexican clash was mooted shortly after Nunez, 29-1 (27 KOs), who fights under Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing banner, claimed his IBF strap with a unanimous decision victory over Masanori Rikiishi.
It was back in May when the 28-year-old’s more assertive effort saw him emerge victorious on away soil, just over three months before defending his title against Christopher Diaz in Los Mochis, Mexico.
On that particular night, ‘Sugar’ came through a tougher-than-expected assignment, this time encountering far more hurdles, but nonetheless floored his man en route to a convincing points victory.
As for WBO champion Navarrete, 39-2-1 (32 KOs), there has been very little to suggest that a selection of enticing options – beyond a possible dustup with Nunez, that is – has suddenly captured his interest.
Initially, it appeared as though the 30-year-old was likely to enter an immediate rematch with Charly Suarez, who he outpointed with a technical decision victory in May.
That result, however, was later overturned to a no-contest after the California State Athletic Commission determined that the cut on Navarrete’s eyebrow, which had caused an eighth-round halt to their contest, was the result of a legal punch from Suarez.
In response, the WBO promptly ordered a second encounter between the pair, but since then, there has been no mention of whether both parties have engaged in negotiations.
With their 20-day period to agree terms having come to pass, too, it would also seem that their scheduled purse bid hearing was ultimately scuppered.
This, then, could make a collision between Navarrete and Nunez far more likely, especially after the two went face-to-face following the latter’s victory over Diaz.
And while Navarrete’s promoter, Top Rank, is still yet to land a broadcast deal, there might just be an opportunity for Hearn to tempt ‘Vaquero’ with a lucrative offer.
“I’d love to make the Navarrete fight,” the Matchroom boss told Boxing News. “It’s one of the best fights in boxing – two Mexican world champions – and while there’s a lot of work to do, I’m very hopeful [that it can happen].
“I think Navarrete wants the fight, and we’ve got a great relationship with Top Rank, so hopefully we can get it made.”
