Mexican star Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (36-1, 30 KOs) and Australian contender Liam Wilson (11-1, 7 KOs) meet each other for the vacant WBO junior lightweight world title at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
In the co-feature, unbeaten super lightweight Arnold Barboza Jr. (27-0, 10 KOs) faces former two-weight world champion Jose “Sniper” Pedraza (29-4-1, 14 KOs) in the 10-round clash.
The card will be broadcast on ESPN+ in the US, while the fight will be broadcast in the United Kingdom by Sky Sports Arena.
The third-ranked junior contender in the WBO is Wilson, an Australian from Caboolture. Although he has never competed outside of his native nation, he will travel close to 8,000 miles in the hopes of pulling off a massive upset. Oscar Valdez sustained a training injury, so Wilson stepped up to take on Navarrete.
Wilson enters the fight with momentum on his side. He avenged his shocking fifth-round TKO loss to Filipino challenger Joe Noynay in July 2021 by knocking out the opponent in the second round in March. In June, he maintained his winning streak by defeating former world championship contender Matias Rueda in a 10-round unanimous decision.
Also, some of the most talented young fighters can be seen in the bout undercard. In a 10-round junior lightweight battle, Las Vegas-bred Andres Cortes (18-0, 10 KOs) will face Puerto Rican knockout puncher Luis Melendez (17-2, 13 KOs). Moreover, the grandson of "The Greatest," middleweight contender Nico Ali Walsh (7-0, 5 KOs), takes on Phoenix-based Eduardo Ayala (9-2-1, 3 KOs) in a six-round fight in an attempt to improve to 8-0 streak.
Main card: Begins at 10 pm ET
▪️Emanuel Navarrete vs. Liam Wilson, 12 rounds, for the vacant WBO junior lightweight tile ▪️Jose Pedraza vs. Arnold Barboza Jr., 10 rounds, junior welterweights ▪️Richard Torrez Jr vs. James Bryant, 6 rounds, heavyweight
Undercard:
▪️Andres Cortes vs. Luis Melendez, 10 rounds, junior lightweight ▪️Nico Ali Walsh vs. Eduardo Ayala, 6 rounds, middleweight ▪️Lindolfo Delgado vs. Clarence Booth, 8 rounds, junior welterweight ▪️Emiliano Vargas vs. Francisco Duque, 4 rounds, lightweight
