Emanuel Navarrete and Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez both came in under the 130-pound limit ahead of their highly anticipated junior lightweight unification bout at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Navarrete, the reigning WBO titlist, officially weighed 129.2 pounds, while IBF champion Nunez tipped the scale at 129.8 pounds for Saturday’s 12-round main event, which will air live on DAZN.
Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) overcame unexpected travel issues during fight week after misplacing his passport and making an emergency visit to his local embassy before flying in on a private jet late Thursday. “We had our setbacks on the way here, circumstances beyond our control,” Navarrete said. “Nothing left to be said, just looking forward to an all-Mexican war.” The 31-year-old will attempt the fifth defense of the WBO belt he first won at the same venue in February 2023.
Nunez, a knockout artist from Los Mochis, will make the second defense of the IBF title he captured with a unanimous decision win over Masanori Rikiishi last May in Japan. He followed that with another decision victory over Christopher Diaz in September. “Navarrete is a very difficult style to face,” Nunez admitted. “But we’re ready to write our own history.”
The winner is scheduled to face Charly Suarez next in a WBO mandatory title defense.
Image Credit: The Ring