Emanuel Navarrete to defend 122 pound title against Francisco De Vaca, August 17
Emanuel Navarrete will defend his WBO junior featherweight title against Francisco De Vaca on August 17, a source informed RingTV.com late Wednesday night.
The 12-round bout will take place at the Banc of California Stadium, in Los Angeles, which is home to Major League Soccer’s LAFC. The bout will precede the main event bout between welterweight contenders Jose Benavidez and Luis Collazo.
Both fights will air live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
Navarrete (27-1, 23 knockouts), who resides in Mexico City, put forth a dominant performance in the first defense of his title in his most recent bout, on May 11, in Tucson, Arizona, dropping Isaac Dogboe multiple times before the fight was stopped in round 12. Navarrete won the title from Dogboe in their first bout on December 8 by unanimous decision, in New York City.
The 24-year-old Navarrete, who is co-promoted by Top Rank and Zanfer Promotions, is ranked No. 3 by RingTV.com at 122 pounds. The Mexico City resident made his pro debut one month after his 17th birthday.
Navarrete will be making a voluntary defense against De Vaca, who will be taking a significant step-up in opposition.
De Vaca (20-0, 6 KOs), who is originally from Michoacan, Mexico, and has gained a following in his adopted hometown of Phoenix, most recently fought on February 23, defeating veteran Ernesto Guerrero by unanimous decision.
The most-notable fighter De Vaca has fought thus far in his pro career is two-time bantamweight title challenger Christian Esquivel. De Vaca knocked him out in round six on February 24 of last year.
The 24-year-old De Vaca is ranked No. 11 by the WBO.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV.com since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper, BoxingScene.com and FightNights.com. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing.
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