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Add FightsATW on GoogleWith over 170 world champions, Mexico trails only the United States as the country with the most boxing champions. So far, Mexico has produced 10 three-division world champions, and 15 if you include Mexican-American fighters such as Oscar De La Hoya and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez. Mexican greats such as Julio Cesar Chavez and Canelo Alvarez have carried the banner for Mexico, winning titles in multiple weight classes.
Among Mexico’s three-division champions, only four, or seven if Mexican-American fighters are included, have been awarded the Ring Magazine championship. Mexico currently has six world champions, and the most accomplished among them is Emanuel Navarrete (40-2-1, 33 KOs).
On Saturday, October 24, at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, TX, Navarrete has a chance to cement his legacy as the premier fighter from Mexico of this era in the lower weight classes when he faces O’Shaquie Foster (25-3, 12 KOs) for the WBO, IBF, WBC, and Ring Magazine junior lightweight championship. The previous two Ring Magazine junior lightweight champions were Manny Pacquiao and Shakur Stevenson; a win over Foster would place Navarrete among an all-time great and one of the world’s best fighters.
“I think this fight is going to mean a lot for Mexican boxing,” Navarrete said in a press release. “That it’s a unification for three titles speaks for itself. I think this fight is going ot be very important in the history of Mexican boxing, and I think a win would be something tremendous for Mexico.”
Among Mexican fighters who have won titles in three weight classes, Navarrete is most often compared to Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales. Much like Navarrete, both Barrera and Morales got their start in the super bantamweight division. The first fight in the trilogy between Barrera and Morales took place at 122 pounds, with each subsequent fight at higher weights in the featherweight and junior lightweight divisions. Like Navarrete, Barrera and Morales unified titles at junior lightweight.
After a failed attempt to win a title at lightweight, Morales would return from retirement to become Mexico’s first four-division champion, winning a title at junior welterweight. Not only does Navarrete share a similar career trajectory to both Hall-of-Famers, but he also has the same relentless attacking mindset.
Since upsetting Isaac Dogboe in December 2018, as a five-to-one underdog, to win the WBO 122-pound championship, Navarrete has run through the featherweight divisions, making five defenses of his WBO super bantamweight title, three defenses of the WBO featherweight title, and two defenses of the WBO junior lightweight title before unifying and winning the IBF title against Eduardo Nunez. He has delivered exciting fights and overwhelmed opponents with high-volume, ruthless pressure, a unique rhythm, and an unorthodox style. No fighter in boxing fights quite like Navarrete. He throws punches from odd angles, seemingly leaving himself open, and leads with uppercuts.
And yet, despite a few bumps on the road against the likes of Robson Conceicao, which ended in a draw, a close decision loss to Denys Berinchyk at lightweight, and a no contest against Charly Suarez that ended due to a cut, Navarrete’s style has never truly been figured out by an opponent.
Heading into the fight with Foster, the three-division champion plans on adjusting to what his opponent brings to the table. Navarrete will likely stay within his framework where he has found the most success. He knows Foster won’t be as easy to hit as past opponents and has a game plan to make sure that if the fight goes into the later rounds, he will follow a strategy leading to victory.
“Knowing how Foster boxes and what I can offer inside the ring, I think we’re going to try to pressure him and look to land to the body so that he starts slowing down and we can catch him more cleanly and more often in the later rounds,” says Navarrete when describing how he plans to fight Foster. “We’re having a very strategic training camp because of that. We don’t know which version of Foster is going to show up that night, so we’re trying to prepare for anything that could give us problems.”
Earning the status of a great fighter from Mexico takes time. It’s something you have to earn, and it takes a willingness to leave a part of yourself inside the ring. It takes the fortitude to fight for more than yourself and your family, but for pride, honor, and your country.
“When I fight, all of the eyes in Mexico are upon me,” said Julio Cesar Chavez when describing the pressure of fighting for Mexico. “It’s a big responsibility. Sometimes it seems I am defending the nation.”
Navarrete isn’t in the same position as Chavez or Canelo, where his every move is examined for criticism or celebration. But a win over Foster will elevate him not just as a boxer, but also among his compatriots. It will take him to new heights and place his name among those he once idolized. Against Foster, he reaches for the brass ring of becoming Mexico’s next great fighter.
“As a fighter, I don’t think there’s anything beyond that you can dream of or think you can achieve,” Navarrete said, describing what a victory over Foster will mean to him. “I think that’s about as high as you can go in a boxing career. And if I accomplish it, forget about it. I don’t even know how to contain myself.”
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