The rumors of Emanuel Navarrete moving up in weight (again) are coming true.

And now, a world title opportunity awaits in his first fight at 135 pounds.

A purse bid has been called by the WBO to have Navarrete and Denys Berinchyk fight for the sanctioning body’s lightweight title belt, as they announced on Monday afternoon.

The WBO sent out correspondence to Bob Arum of Top Rank, which promotes Navarrete, and to K2 Ukraine’s Alex Krassyuk to negotiate a deal. If a deal is not reached after 15 days from Monday, Jan. 29, the WBO will call for a purse bid.

“Please be advised by the WBO World Championship Committee hereby orders the commencement of negotiations for the subject matter bout,” stated the WBO in a letter to representatives of both fighters. “The parties herein are granted 15 days upon notice of this order to reach an agreement. If an accord is not reached within the time frame outlined herein, purse bid procedures will be ordered pursuant to WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests.”

The minimum allowable bid for a WBO world lightweight title bout is $150,000.

Navarrete reportedly invoked his ‘Super Champion’ statu in order to earn this opportunity. Per WBO rules and mandates, a fighter who holds a world title belt with the WBO can move up a weight class and challenge for a vacant world title belt or a world titleholder.

The 29-year-old Navarrete is the current WBO world junior lightweight titleholder and is rated No. 1 by The Ring at 130 pounds.

Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 knockouts), who resides in San Juan Zitlaltepec, Mexico, won the vacant WBO junior lightweight title on February 3 of last year, overcoming a knockdown in round four to stop Liam Wilson of Australia in round nine. Over six months later, Navarrete defeated former world titleholder Oscar Valdez by unanimous decision.

Both fights took place at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

In his last bout on November 16, Navarrete dropped Robson Conceicao twice, but had to settle for a majority decision draw.

Berinchyk (18-0, 9 KOs) last fought on August 26, defeating Anthony Yigit by unanimous decision. In his previous fight in December 2022, Berinchyk defeated Yvon Mendy by unanimous decision.

The 35-year-old Berinchyk, who resides in Kiev, Ukraine, also  won his last three fights by decision after previously stopping his previous two opponents.

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 at [email protected]

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