Emanuel Navarrete embraced the possibility of a Fight of the Year showdown versus Oscar Valdez and was able to turn it into a career-best victory.
That same mindset has been applied to what is viewed as a more awkward style clash ahead of his WBO junior lightweight title defense versus Olympic Gold medalist and veteran contender Robson Conceicao.
“What I like about this fight is that Robson Conceicao has that unique style, not really like anyone I’ve faced before,” Navarrete told BoxingScene.com. “True champions learn how to overcome all different styles, so I really look forward to this challenge.”
Navarrete-Conceicao will air live on ESPN preceding the Shakur Stevenson-Edwin De Los Santos WBC lightweight title as part of a November 16 title fight doubleheader from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The fight will mark the third of a sensational 2023 campaign for Mexico’s Navarrete (38-1, 30KOs), all versus drastically different type of fighters.
The year began with an off-the-canvas, ninth-round knockout of Australia’s Liam Wilson on February 3 to win the vacant WBO junior lightweight title and become a three-division titlist. The fight took place at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, which also hosted Navarrete’s clear-cut decision victory over Valdez, a two-time Olympian and former two-division champ.
Next up is Brazil’s Conceicao (17-2, 8KOs), a three-time Olympian and his nation’s first boxer to win a Gold medal which came during the 2016 Rio Olympics. His lone two defeats have come on the title stage. He was competitive in a September 2021 unanimous decision loss to Valdez, but less so in a lopsided decision in favor of Stevenson who missed weight ahead of their WBC/WBO title fight last September 23 in Newark, New Jersey.
Navarrete has won 33 straight fights heading into this contest, including a perfect 12-0 record in title fights spanning three weight divisions.
The win over Valdez is viewed by the 28-year-old from San Juan Zitlaltepec as the start of what he hopes to be a career-defining run. The fight being paired up with Stevenson-De Los Santos could create intrigue for a future Stevenson-Navarrete fight, as both are with Top Rank.
Navarrete has long-term aspirations of winning a title in fourth—and perhaps a fifth—divisional title. For now, though, the goal is to further unify the division and mentioned the equally crafty WBC junior lightweight titlist O’Shaquie Foster (21-2, 12KOs) as a potential next option.
Of course, it all begins with a win over Conceicao, which is his primary focus.
“In some sense, this is good preparation for the fighters I could face in 2024,” acknowledged Navarrete. “Obviously, how I prepare for this fight will be slightly different than how I train for someone like O’Shaquie Foster. There are certain similarities but it’s not like we can just have the same exact training camp.
“We take every opponent seriously and apply different techniques for everyone we face. This camp has been different from others we’ve had, given Conceicao’s style.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox