Emanuel Navarrete, Denys Berinchyk Make Weight For WBO Lightweight Title Fight
Emanuel Navarrete will campaign in the new category.
The current WBO 130-pounder was right at the 135-pound limit in his quest for the vacant WBO lightweight title. Ukraine's Denys Berinchyk weighed in at 134.8 pounds for their scheduled 12-round main event.
ESPN will televise their title fight this Saturday, starting at 10:30 pm ET from the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.
Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 knockouts), No. 1 at 130 by The Ring, won titles at 122, 126 and 130 pounds. The 29-year-old from San Juan Zitlaltepec, Mexico is 12-0-1 in major fights spanning those three divisions.
He enters Saturday's bout holding the WBO 130-pound title. Navarrete retained the belt when he and Robson Conceicao, number 7 at 130, fought to a draw last November 14.
With a win on Saturday, Navarrete will have ten days to decide whether to retain the 130- or 135-pound title.
Berinchyk (18-0, 9 KOs) is here to take that problem off his hands.
Ring's No. 8-rated lightweight enters his first title fight. It comes one week after Vasiliy Lomachenko, ranked No. 1 at 135, reclaimed the IBF belt.
Oleksandr Usyk, Berinchyk's stablemate and partner, faces Tyson Fury in a vacant heavyweight bout earlier in the day.
What is expected among them is that Ukraine will go 3-0 when all is said and done.
Local favorite Giovanni Santillan and Brian Norman Jr. from Atlanta made weight for their interim WBO welterweight title fight.
San Diego's own Santillan (32-0, 17 KOs), No. 4 at 147, it was 146.4 pounds. Norman (25-0, 19 KOs) was also under the 146 ½ pound limit.
The winner of the ESPN co-feature will receive the interim WBO belt and can expect an upgrade later this year.
Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) holds the WBO title, as well as the RING title and the WBC and WBA belts. Entrant no. 2 pound-for-pound will next challenge WBA 154-pounder Israel Madrimov on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles. There is also a high profile fight with RING/undisputed 168-pound champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez down the road.
ESPN+ Undercard Weights (Saturday, 6:30 pm ET/3:30 pm PT)
8 rounds, heavyweight
Richard Torrez Jr (9-0, 9 KOs), Tulare, California, 229.9 pounds
Brandon Moore (14-0, 8 KOs), Lakeland, Florida, 229.4 pounds
4 rounds, lightweight
Jonny Mansour (pro debut), San Diego, 134 pounds
Anel Dudo (3-5, 1 KO), Aurora, Colorado, 130.8 pounds
6 rounds, junior welterweight
Emiliano Vargas (9-0, 7 KOs), Las Vegas via Oxnard, California, 139.6 pounds
Angel Varela (10-2, 7 KOs), Agua Prieta, Mexico, 140 pounds
8 rounds, lightweight
Alan Garcia (12-0, 10 KOs), Ulysses, Kansas, 137.8 pounds
Wilfredo Flores (10-2-1, 5 KOs), Dunkirk, New York, 136.0 pounds
8 rounds, featherweight
Jonathan Lopez (14-0, 10 KOs), Orlando, Florida, 127.1 pounds
Edgar Ortega (14-2-2, 7 KOs), Mexicali, 127.6 pounds
4 rounds, welterweight
Art Barrera Jr. (4-0, 4 KOs), Paramount, California, 146 pounds
Levy Josue Garcia (3-1-1, 2 KOs), Tiaquepaque, Mexico, 143.9 pounds
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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