Emanuel Navarrete to Defend WBO Junior Lightweight Title Against Robson Conceicao

Emanuel Navarrete is going on the defensive…

The 28-year-old Mexican professional boxer will defend the WBO junior lightweight title against Robson Conceicao on November 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Emanuel NavarreteThe fight, which will be Navarrete’s third of 2023, will serve as the chief-support bout to the Shakur StevensonEdwin De Los Santos lightweight title fight.

Navarrete (38-1, 31 KOs) scored the biggest win of his career in August, taking a wide-points victory over former champion Oscar Valdez.

A three-division champion, he also captured titles at 122 and 126 pounds and is ESPN’s No. 1 boxer at 130 pounds.

Conceicao (17-2, 8 KOs) will vie for a world title for a third time. The 34-year-old Brazilian was set to stay busy on Friday night underneath the ESPN main event between Luis Alberto Lopez and Joet Gonzalez.

But with the title fight presented to him earlier this week, Conceicao was a late scratch from his bout with Humberto Galindo.

“I had to three fight three times to become champion,” Conceicao told ESPN’s Mark Kriegel on Friday on the ESPN broadcast. “It’s my time.”

Conceicao’s two losses came in title fights, both under extenuating circumstances. The Olympic gold medalist dropped a disputed decision to Valdez in 2021 after Valdez tested positive for a banned substance.

Conceicao challenged Stevenson for a 130-pound title last year, but Stevenson missed weight before he soundly outpointed Conceicao.

Amanda Serrano Set to Make History in First Women’s Bout with 12 Three-Minute Rounds

Amanda Serrano is preparing for a historic bout…

When the 34-year-old Puerto Rican boxer, the undisputed featherweight champion, defends her WBA, IBF and WBO belts against Danila Ramos on October 27 at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida, the two will fight 12 three-minute rounds instead of the official 10 two-minute rounds for title fights in women’s boxing.

Amanda SerranoThis will be the first women’s unified championship fight ever fought under the same rules as the men.

Serrano will defend her titles against Ramos, the WBO mandatory challenger, in a fight approved by all three sanctioning bodies and the Florida Athletic Commission and put on by Most Valuable Promotions, run by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian.

“This fight is about more than some belts,” Serrano said in a statement. “We have faced a long and hard battle, united as women, to achieve the same pay, respect, and recognition in boxing.

“Together, on Friday, October 27, we will make history and prove to the world once again how incredible women’s boxing is and that we are just as tough, dynamic, and capable as any man in the ring, if not more so. This is a fight for women everywhere to be treated the same as their male counterparts.”

The number of rounds and the length of rounds for championship fights have been issues in women’s boxing for years — often brought up by many of the top fighters in the sport. When Serrano fought Katie Taylor for Taylor’s undisputed lightweight titles in 2022 — a fight that became the biggest event in women’s boxing history — Serrano lobbied for three-minute rounds but mentioned it publicly only after contracts had been signed. Serrano-Taylor was fought with 10 two-minute rounds.

 

There have been women’s title fights with three-minute rounds before — notably when Seniesa Estrada stopped Marlen Esparza in the ninth round for the WBA interim flyweight title in November 2019, but Estrada-Esparza was 10 rounds. Other high-level fighters, including pound-for-pound No. 1 and current undisputed middleweight champion Claressa Shields, have advocated for 12 rounds or three-minute rounds — or both — in the past.

 

In 2021, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN, “if I could get three-minute rounds, I would sign a number of women.” He believes it could add more excitement and opportunity. Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe also told ESPN in 2021 that he believed the longer rounds would increase popularity in women’s boxing. Former Golden Boy matchmaker Robert Diaz also told ESPN in 2021 that he felt world title fights should be three-minute rounds.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán told ESPN in 2021 that he would not sanction three-minute round fights because he considers it a safety issue. He said his organization, which sanctions Serrano’s featherweight title, would not change its stance until “there is clear medical research clearance to do any changes.”

In MMA, men and women fight the same number of rounds and same number of minutes — three five-minute rounds for undercard fights and five five-minute rounds for championship fights and main events. This is a step toward giving equal fighting balance to women in boxing too.

Serrano (45-2-1, 30 KO) last fought in August, when she defeated Heather Hardy by unanimous decision in Dallas to defend her undisputed featherweight title. The seven-division world champion will be making the sixth defense of her WBO title and second defense of her WBA belt. Other than a split-decision loss to Taylor as a challenger to Taylor’s undisputed lightweight championship in 2022, Serrano has not lost a fight since 2012, and she has never been beaten as a featherweight, her natural fighting weight.

Ramos (12-2, 1 KO), 38, became the mandatory challenger in August when she defeated Brenda Karen Carabajal by split decision in Buenos Aires. She has won her past four fights — but three have come by split or majority decision. She has fought for interim titles three times — beating Carabajal and losing to Katharina Thanderz and Elhem Mekhaled. Ramos has never been stopped in her career.

In this fight, Ramos will be part of history.

The last known major women’s fights of 12 three-minute rounds came in 2007, when Layla McCarter defeated Donna Biggers on January 5 and Melissa Hernandez on February 14, both in Las Vegas. Neither one went the distance, as McCarter stopped Biggers in the second round and Hernandez in the eighth round. Now, on a bigger stage — the fight will be televised as a main event on DAZN — a 12-round three-minute fight will be happening again.

“Fighting Amanda Serrano for 12 three-minute rounds for a unified championship is set to break the barriers that we women have been looking to do for many years,” Ramos said in a statement. “We will go down in history and in the books.”

Teofimo Lopez Jr.’s Team Requesting “Super Champion’ Designation from WBO

Teofimo Lopez Jr. is hoping for a super decision… 

Top Rank sent an official request to the WBO with hopes of naming the 26-year-old Honduran American junior welterweight champion as the organization’s “super champion,” a designation that provides the fighter with special privileges under the WBO guidelines.

Teofimo Lopez“As you are aware Teofimo most recently defeated then WBO world champion Josh Taylor at MSG on June 10,” the letter from Top Rank’s vice president of boxing operations, Carl Moretti, sent to the WBO reads. “His performance has received accolades throughout the boxing community as well as a nomination for “Performance of the Year“.

 

“It should also be noted that Taylor is a former undisputed unified 140-pound world champion never losing any of his titles inside the ring when he fought Teofimo.”

Top Rank also noted that “The magnitude of Teofimo’s accomplishments” are enough to grant him the “super champion” status.

Lopez (19-1, 13 KOs), a 2-1 underdog at the time, handed Taylor his first defeat in June with a dominating unanimous decision victory at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. With the win, Lopez became a two-division champion at just 25 years old, lending merit to Top Rank’s request.

Fernando Gaztambide, WBO press officer, told ESPN that “super champion” designation is a status granted “to those fighters whose professional merits and accomplishments satisfy the criteria set forth in the relevant provision.”

Gaztambide also noted that it is not a title, but rather a status which grants the recipient certain rights considering his accomplishments.

“As a super champion a fighter gets certain privileges, like being named mandatory challenger for a champion in higher or lower divisions, lifetime membership with the WBO, extended time to make mandatory title defenses and other things,” WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel told ESPN.

The decision will be made this week, according to Valcarcel, and depends on Lopez meeting the required qualifications.

“We have rules and criteria the fighter should meet. If the five-member championship committee approves the request, it will need to be approved by the 23-member executive committee by majority,” Valcarcel explained.

Some of the WBO criteria includes that the fighter has a “multiple bout contract with a major television [company].” It also states that the fighter requesting the “super champion” designation had a minimum of 10 title defenses or if less than 10, the fighter has defended the belt against “opponents of high recognition and high skills.”

Other provisions are that the fighter has been a champion in more than one division or has held more than one championship from the other major organizations (WBC, WBA, IBF), or has been a unified champion, among others. Lopez checks all those boxes, having been a former WBO lightweight champion and a unified champion.

Currently, the WBO has five “super champions”, heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk, super middleweight Canelo Alvarez, junior middleweight Jermell Charlo, welterweight Terence Crawford, and lightweight Devin Haney.

Arely Mucino to Defend Her IBF Flyweight Title Against Gabriela Fundora

Arely Mucino is going on the defensive…

The 34-year-old Mexican professional boxer and reigning IBF flyweight champion will make the first defense of her title against Mexican American fighter Gabriela Fundora on October 21 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, according to ESPN.

Arely MucinoMucino, ESPN’s No. 2 flyweight, last fought in October when she beat Leonela Paola Yudica for the IBF title. Mucino (32-3-2, 11 KO) had been the WBO and WBC flyweight champion at points earlier in her career.

Her last loss came in 2015 by unanimous decision to Yessica Chavez. Mucino has won her past 11 fights.

Fundora, ESPN’s No. 5 flyweight, has been one of ESPN’s top prospects the past two years. The 21-year-old last fought in April, beating Maria Micheo Santizo by unanimous decision.

This will be the third fight this year and first title shot for Fundora (11-0, 4 KO), who is from California and is the younger sister of super middleweight Sebastian Fundora.

WBO Orders Undisputed Featherweight Champion Amanda Serrano to Fight Danila Ramos in Mandatory Title Defense

Amanda Serrano has been assigned her next opponent…

The WBO has ordered the 34-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, the undisputed featherweight champion, to have a mandatory title defense against Danila Ramos, potentially lining up the next fight for ESPN‘s No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter.

Amanda SerranoBoth Serrano and Ramos last fought earlier this month.

Serrano (45-2-1, 30 KO) beat Heather Hardy by a unanimous decision in Dallas, and Ramos (12-2, 1 KO) defeated Brenda Karen Carabajal by split decision in Buenos Aires.

If the fight gets made, it will be the sixth defense of the WBO title for Serrano.

Ramos, 38, has been in three “interim” title fights in her career — losing a unanimous decision to Elhem Mekhaled for the WBC interim junior lightweight title in 2019, a split decision loss to Katharina Thanderz for the same belt later in 2019 and then defeating Carabajal for the “interim” WBO featherweight title earlier this month.

It’s not clear why there’s an interim title in the division since Serrano has been active since beating Hardy for the WBO title in 2019.

The WBO is giving the two sides 10 days to negotiate and come to a fight agreement before it gets sent to purse bid.

Emanuel Navarrete Defeats Oscar Valdez to Retain WBO Junior Lightweight Title

Emanuel Navarrete is keeping his title…

In an all-out slugfest on ESPN, the 28-year-old Mexican boxer (38-1, 31 KOs) retained his WBO junior lightweight title against Oscar Valdez via unanimous decision by scores of 116-112, 118-110 and 119-109. ESPN scored it 116-112.

Emanuel Navarrete“I feel happy to have been part of this … next great chapter of Mexican boxing history,” Navarrete said through an interpreter. “I am happy and appreciate Oscar for the great fight that we delivered.”

“Thank God I won,” he added. “I appreciate what he did in the ring. He is a Mexican warrior. If people want a rematch, they will demand it.”

Round after round, Navarrete fired punches from awkward angles, rarely setting his feet. He uncorked looping right hands and lefts from uncanny trajectories while in constant motion. He totaled a dizzying 1,038 punches for the fight, more than double the output of Valdez, who threw just 436.

Valdez (31-2, 23 KOs) was content to march forward and exchange with Navarrete, a strategy that rarely worked. When he took a step back, he often missed wildly on home run swings. He did, however, connect plenty with his left hook, the same shot that brutally knocked out Miguel Berchelt in 2021 to win the WBC junior lightweight title.

When Valdez drilled Navarrete with the counter left hook in Round 2 and the champion didn’t so much as budge, it was clear trouble was in store for the challenger.

Slowly but surely, Valdez’s right eye closed and turned purple under duress from Navarrete’s punishing, whirlwind attack. Even when Navarrete indicated that his right hand was injured late in the fight, he continued to throw with his power hand.

“It was a small inflammation in my right hand,” Navarrete said. “But the more you hit it, the tougher it gets. But I had to overcome it.”

Navarrete entered the fight rated No. 2 by ESPN at junior lightweight after he defeated Australia’s Liam Wilson to win the vacant title in February. Wilson stepped in six months ago to replace Valdez, who was injured, and almost pulled off the upset. Wilson scored a knockdown in Round 4 of Navarrete’s 130-pound debut, but Navarrete rallied to stop him in Round 9.

On Saturday night, Navarrete scored not just a second victory at 130 pounds but the biggest win of his career.

“He is a warrior,” said Valdez, who lived in Tucson, Arizona, during parts of his childhood. “I tried my best. We gave it our best. He is a warrior. He is a true champion.”

“I’m sorry I disappointed everyone,” Valdez added. “I feel terrible. I wanted to give you all a great fight. I hope you enjoyed the fight. I hope to return strong.”

A two-time Olympian, Valdez, 32, emerged with his face badly bruised and swollen, the product of Navarrete’s thudding shots. Of course, he’s no stranger to fighting through trying circumstances.

In a 2018 featherweight title defense against Scott Quigg, Valdez battled through a broken jaw to win a decision. His jaw was wired shut afterward.

He has been floored multiple times in his career but always bounced back to win outside of his fight last year against pound-for-pound talent Shakur Stevenson. And now, for the second time in three outings, Valdez will look to bounce back.

Navarrete, meanwhile, appears to be improving with each fight and each new weight class. He made his pro debut in 2012 at 112 pounds and won his first title in 2018 when he upset Isaac Dogboe. He then turned back Dogboe in the rematch before notching four more junior featherweight defenses against limited opposition.

At 126 pounds, Navarrete defeated Ruben Villa in 2020 to capture a vacant title and went on to score far more impressive wins against quality opponents, including victories over Joet Gonzalez and Eduardo Baez.

He has defeated the top boxer in ESPN‘s 130-pound ratings and once again was able to overwhelm his foe with not just volume but bruising power.

Navarrete will continue to be in demand, a champion on top of his weight class who consistently delivers action fights — and another in a long line of brave fighters from Mexico.

Seniesa Estrada Beats Leonela Yudica by Unanimous Decision to Retain WBA & WBC 105-Pound Titles

Seniesa Estrada has successfully defended her titles…

The 31-year-old Mexican American professional boxer retained her WBA and WBC 105-pound titles with a unanimous decision victory over Leonela Yudica on Friday at the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort.

Seniesa Estrada

All three judges scored the fight 97-93.

Estrada used her height and reach advantage to outbox Yudica, sometimes switching stances in a tough title defense. Estrada was able to dig hard shots to the body in a fight that featured a lot of exchanges and many rounds that were difficult to score.

“I knew coming into this fight that she was a boxer who would move away from me and not come forward much,” Estrada said. “In my preparation, I knew I had to show something different in myself.”

She added: “Going into this fight, I knew she was a natural flyweight, so she is a lot bigger than me physically. … I definitely had to use my footwork. … I had to use my feints and movements to make sure I was close enough to land punches and not get countered.”

Estrada (25-0, 9 KOs) captured a second minimumweight belt in March in a title-unification victory over Tina Rupprecht. From East Los Angeles, Estrada has made three title defenses at 105 pounds. Estrada also won a 108-pound title in July 2021 with a victory over Tenkai Tsunami but returned to 105 pounds afterward. She is ESPN‘s No. 6 pound-for-pound boxer.

Yokasta Valle, who holds the WBO and IBF titles at 105 pounds, was welcomed into the ring after Estrada’s win Friday night. A fight with Estrada could take place next for the undisputed minimumweight championship.

“I want Yokasta Valle,” said Estrada, who is No. 1 in ESPN’s division rankings, with Valle No. 2. “I’m the best in this division. I want to prove it by beating her. She can just hand me those belts right now because when we fight it’s going to be bad for her.”

Yudica (19-2-3, 1 KO), a longtime champion at 112 pounds, fought at 105 pounds for the first time.

The 34-year-old Argentine lost to Arely Mucino in October via split decision but rebounded to defeat Tamara Demarco in April, also via split decision. It was just her second fight outside of Argentina.

“I do not agree at all with the scorecards,” Yudica said. “I am convinced that nobody has hit her like I have hit her. If not, she can take off her hat and show how her face has been left.

“I did a very good job. … I exchanged when I needed to. It was a good fight, and it didn’t deserve this result.”

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez to Face Sunny Edwards in Flyweight Title Unification Fight

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is looking to up his title count…

The 23-year-old Mexican American professional boxer and Sunny Edwards have signed contracts for a flyweight title unification fight, Eddie Hearn‘s Matchroom Boxing has announced.

Jesse "Bam" RodriguezThe matchup pits ESPN‘s top two boxers at 112 pounds: Rodriguez, who holds the WBO title, and Edwards, the IBF champion who is rated No. 2.

The fight will take place in the U.S. and will likely land in December, sources told ESPN.

“Delighted to deliver the biggest fight in the division for both of our fighters,” Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith told ESPN. “Respect to both for making it happen.”

Rodriguez, who fights out of San Antonio, captured the vacant WBO flyweight title in April with a unanimous-decision victory over Cristian Gonzalez.

“Bam”, the younger brother of 115-pound titleholder Joshua Franco, broke out last year with a pair of victories over former champions Carlos Cuadras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in junior bantamweight fights.

Now, Rodriguez (18-0, 11 KOs) will step up to what shapes up as the toughest test of his career in Edwards, a slick-boxing Englishman.

The 27-year-old retained his title earlier this month with a unanimous-decision win over Andres Campos.

The bout was Edwards’ Matchroom debut, and now he, too, will step up in competition against a fellow elite fighter.

“What I do is different to anything anyone else does in a boxing ring,” Edwards (20-0, 4 KOs) said ahead of his win over Campos. ” … It’s not just that I want all of the belts, I don’t want anyone else to have them.

“It sickens me, it pains me that there’s three other people at my weight that walk around saying the same s— that I say.”

Emanuel Navarrete to Reportedly Defend WBO Junior Lightweight Title Against Oscar Valdez

Emanuel Navarrete has lined up his next opponent…

The 28-year-old Mexican professional boxer will defend his WBO junior lightweight title against Oscar Valdez on August 12 in Glendale, Arizona, according to ESPN.

Emanuel Navarrete The title fight between the Mexican action fighters will headline Top Rank Boxing on ESPN.

The bout was scheduled to take place on February 3 for the title vacated by Shakur Stevenson before Valdez withdrew because of a lingering rib injury.

Navarrete (37-1, 31 KOs) faced replacement opponent Liam Wilson in February and rallied from a fourth-round knockdown to score a ninth-round TKO victory in one of the best fights this year.

The win made Navarrete a three-division champion. He also captured titles at 122 and 126 pounds.

In Valdez, Navarrete will face his toughest test yet. The former two-division champion rebounded from his first career defeat (an April 2022 loss to Stevenson) with a unanimous-decision victory over Adam Lopez in a rematch last month.

Valdez (31-1, 23 KOs) won titles at 126 pounds and 130 and is a two-time Olympian.

He’s regarded as one of the best action fighters in boxing.

Amanda Serrano to Fight Heather Hardy in Highly Anticipated Rematch

Amanda Serrano will be facing an old rival…

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler will put her undisputed featherweight title on the line against Heather Hardy in the co-main event of the Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz card on August 5 in Dallas, according to ESPN.

Amanda Serrano

Serrano beat Hardy, her fellow Brooklyn resident, in a grueling unanimous decision victory in 2019 to win the WBO women’s featherweight belt.

With a win in August, Serrano will seek a rematch with Katie Taylor in Taylor’s home country of Ireland. The two fought last year in what was the first-ever women’s headliner at Madison Square Garden and one of the biggest women’s boxing matches ever. Serrano is promoted by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.

“Amanda is one of the most decorated and elite athletes ever and is on path to become the winningest female boxer of all time,” Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said in a statement. “After some much-needed recovery time, Amanda is excited to return to the ring and remind fans why she is the most devastating puncher in women’s boxing. If Amanda prevails in the fight, the plan is to immediately pursue the rematch with Katie Taylor in Ireland.”

Serrano (44-2-1) has won two straight since falling to Taylor in a close split decision in April 2022. She is the first Puerto Rican-born undisputed world champion in boxing history. Serrano has 30 knockout victories in her career and has lost just once — the Taylor fight — in 11 years. She has won titles in seven different weight divisions.

“I am the undisputed featherweight champion today because Heather Hardy agreed to fight me in 2019 for her WBO title,” Serrano said. “That was the first step in my current run at featherweight. It’s only right that I give her the opportunity to earn it back. I’m excited to once again share the card with Jake and put on an exciting war.”

Hardy (24-2, 1 NC) has won two straight, most recently a majority decision win over Taynna Cardoso in February. “The Heat,” who is promoted by Lou DiBella, had her undefeated record spoiled by Serrano in 2019. Hardy, 41, has also competed in MMA under the Bellator banner. She was the WBO women’s featherweight champion in 2018 and 2019.

“I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity,” Hardy said. “In 2021, I came back to boxing with a renewed passion for the sport. My late trainer told me, the day before he died, that 2023 would be my year. Now, I have the opportunity to prove him right and become an undisputed champion. Thank you to Amanda and team for keeping their word on giving me the rematch, but come fight night, I only have winning on my mind and stealing the show from Jake Paul and Nate Diaz.”