Navarrete’s Future At Lightweight Hinges On Berinchyk Bout

Emanuel Navarrete isn’t sure if he’ll stay at lightweight following his fight this Saturday night against Denys Berinchyk (18-0, 9 KOs) on ESPN at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

(Photo credit: Top Rank)

Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KOs) is battling the unbeaten #1 Berinchyk for the vacant WBO lightweight title, and depending on the outcome and how he performs, he’ll decide if he’ll return to super featherweight where he holds the WBO title.

Navarrete’s Safety Net & Recent Struggles

It’s good for the 29-year-old Navarrete that he has a safety net in case things don’t go well in his bid to capture a fourth-division world title against the 2012 Olympic silver medalist Berinchyk.

It’s not a good sign that Navarrete is coming off a controversial 12 round draw against Robson Conceicao in his last fight at 130, and that many boxing fans felt he deserved to lose.

Navarrete looked flabby at that weight, and he looks pretty chunky now going up to 135. He might not be able to carry the weight as well as he did in the lower-weight classes.

Navarrete’s Focus & Respect for Berinchyk

“First I want to win the fight and know that everything is good and ascend to that group. I can only bring me happiness,” said Emanuel Navarrete to Sean Zittel’s YouTube channel about him poised to capture his fourth division world title against Denys Berinchyk this Saturday night in their battle for the vacant WBO lightweight title.

“I know there were some inconsistencies in my fight against [Robson] Conceicao. Whether I was 100% or not, the fight already happened. So, we think about what comes ahead, and 100%, it will be difficult to fight a fighter [Berinchyk] that can manage both stances, especially with that Olympic style.

“We’re focused and attentive and we’re going to be careful and mindful for all his changes in his stances and the punches that he throws. I will do everything possible to win by knockout. We were talking about Ukrainian styles. It’s a style that has been accepted really well.

“Lomachenko revolutionized things with that style followed by Usyk. It’s a style that has come up and it’s one of the most solid style. It’s really hard to fight them,” said Navarrete about the Eastern European style.

The Decision After the Fight

“We’ll wait a bit. It’s not good to make decisions too quickly or under pressure. If I win this title in this new division at 135, we’re going to think about what we’re going to do and what will happen. We’re going to see how I did. Am I for this division?

We’re going to see the results, and after a few days, we’re going to make the correct decision, the best decision for us,” said Navarrete on whether he’ll stay at lightweight or move back down to super featherweight after his fight against Berinchyk.