Emanuel Navarrete Now A 3 Division Champ After Knockdown

Emanuel Navarrete Comes Back From Round 4 Knockdown And Avoids Upset Against Liam Wilson With Round 9 TKO.

Emanuel Navarrete and Liam Wilson faced off in the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona on ESPN for Top Rank. Coming into the fight Navarrete was aiming to become a 3-division champion, as he moved up to the 130 lb Super Feather Weight division.

Wilson was looking for the upset after receiving his first title opportunity, as Navarrete’s original opponent, Oscar Valdez, was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Emanuel Navarrete TKO Win Over Liam WIlson

Both men started the fight off hot, throwing and landing good shots on one another. It was in the fourth round that Wilson was able to hurt and drop Navarrete. There was some controversy as Navarrete appeared to drop his mouth guard intentionally; this resulted in having more time to recover once he had risen to his feet, which were still not fully under him. Regardless, both men fought on.

Navarrete was seemingly able to recover in the 5th and beginning of the 6th until Wilson landed yet another big shot on him that appeared to hurt Navarrete at the end of round 6. However, Navarrete showed why he is a multi-division champion, as he was able to not only recover but start to turn the tide back in his favor with his offense.

Navarrete’s offense to the head and body was eventually able to wear Wilson down into the 9th round when Wilson was dropped with a Navarrete right hand. At this point, the cumulative damage and fatigue may have been too much for Wilson as Navarrete was able to lay on rapid combinations with little to no resistance from Wilson, which resulted in the Referee stepping in and stopping the fight.

Navarrete becomes a 3-division world champion claiming the vacant WBO super-featherweight championship with a round 9 TKO. It was an absolute scrap and will likely be a fight-of-the-year contender for 2023.

It was an impressive show of resilience from Navarrete, as he was able to come back from being hurt multiple times. It was also a great performance from the underdog Wilson, as not many gave him a legitimate shot in this fight. Yet he showed he belonged in the ring with the champion Navarrete.

Navarrete improved to 37-1 (31 KOs) while Liam Wilson fell to 11-2.

Full Card Results

Emanuel Navarrete (37-1) Def. Liam Wilson (11-2)- TKO9

Arnold Barboza Jr. (28-0) Def. Jose Pedraza (29-5-1)- UD 97-93 96-94×2

Andres Cortes (19-0) Def. Luis Melendez (17-3)- UD 100-90×3

Lindolfo Delgado (17-0) Def. Clarence Booth (21-7) 80-71 79-72×2

Richard Torrez Jr. (5-0) Def. James Bryant (6-3)- RTD1

Nico Ali-Walsh (8-0) Def. Eduardo Ayala (9-3-1)- UD 60-53 59-54×2

Emiliano Vargas (3-0) Def. Francisco Duque (1-2)- UD 40-36×3

By Max Rhoades

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