Jackie Nava and Mariana Juarez have had stellar careers, likely earning them a call to the International Boxing Hall of Fame when they hang up the gloves for good. While they have won multiple titles in their careers, spanning over 20 years in the sport, they have yet to square off against one another.

That will finally happen Saturday night, as both will look to add another accolade to their already impressive resumes.

Nava and Juarez will fight at Auditorio Municipal in Nava’s hometown of Tijuana, Mexico. The 12-round bout, which will air live on Azteca 7 throughout Mexico, will be a clash between female fighters ranked in the top-5 by The Ring Magazine. Nava and Juarez are ranked Nos. 1 and 5, respectively, at 122 pounds.

Both fighters are 41 years of age but remain active and are top fighters in their weight class. No world title will be at stake on Saturday night but bragging rights and a step closer to fighting one of the major titleholders in the division are on the line.

Nava (38-4-4, 16 knockouts) most recently fought on March 20, defeating Karina Fernandez by unanimous decision. She is unbeaten in her last 15 bouts since losing to Ana Maria Torres by unanimous decision in July 2011.

Nava, who made her pro debut in May 2001, made history back in May 2005, winning the inaugural WBC female junior featherweight title in a one-sided decision over Leona Brown. She would win the WBA female junior featherweight title in January 2012, defeating Chantall Martinez by unanimous decision. Nava went to make six defenses of the title, while regaining the WBC strap in the midst of this reign.

Juarez (55-10-4, 19 KOs), who now resides in Mexico City, most recently saw action on May 21, stopping Alejandra Soto after Round 4. The victory over Soto took place almost seven months after losing 10 one-sided rounds and the WBC female bantamweight title to Yulihan Luna Avila.

Immediately after the fight, Juarez claimed Avila utilized doctored hand wraps, which were inspected by the Comision de Box in Cancun, where the fight took place. After an immediate inspection of the wraps, the commission found no irregularities and the result of the fight was upheld.

Juarez, who made her pro debut in May 1998, won her first belt, the WBC flyweight title, in March 2011, defeating Simona Galassi by unanimous decision. She would make seven successful defenses.

In the co-feature, lightweight Elvis Torres, of Tijuana, will square off against Erick Encinia in an eight-round bout.

Torres (19-1-2, 11 KOs) fought to a no-contest in his most recent bout on May 29. The southpaw was unintentionally hit in the back of his head by Carlos Diaz in Round 7. Because he was not able to continue, the fight was ruled a no-contest.

Encinia (14-4-1, 5 KOs), who resides in Monterrey, Mexico, defeated Iram Rodriguez by unanimous decision in his most recent bout on August 21. He has won his last four bouts since losing a unanimous decision to Angel Napoles Palencia on December 19.

In another eight-round bout, junior featherweight Bryan Mercado (19-1, 15 KOs), of Mexico City, will face Elias Emigdio (8-1-2, 3 KOs), who represented Mexico at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Hard-hitting lightweight Diego Torres (11-0, 11 KOs), of Guadalajara, will square off against Jose Valenzuela (10-0, 6 KOs) in an eight-round bout.

Flyweight Brian Mosinos (21-2, 4 KOs) will square off against Carlos Mejia Juarez (6-2-1, 2 KOs) in a clash between Mexico City residents.

Zanfer Promotions will promote the card.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing.

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