Emanuel Navarrete drops Ruben Villa twice in UD victory

Emanuel Navarrete became a two-division world champion at the age of 25 with his unanimous decision win over previously unbeaten Ruben Villa.

Emanuel Navarrete held the WBO junior featherweight title for two years but relinquished it when he decided to move up to featherweight. After his Friday, Oct. 9, Top Rank bout with Ruben Villa, Navarrette is the champion of a new division.

Navarrette (32-1, 27 KOs) didn’t look like he would have to work too hard against Villa in the early going of their contest for the vacant WBO featherweight title. Navarrete sent Villa to the canvas in the closing seconds of round 1 with a left uppercut.

Villa got to his feet but looked shaky. The bell rang, which saved him from further punishment.

It was a surprise to see Villa down so early. Villa (18-1, 5 KOs) had a deep amateur pedigree, including two national Golden Gloves titles and a record of 116-17. His transition to the pro ranks was successful, but he lacked power with only five KOs in 18 professional fights coming into his title shot against Navarrete.

Villa’s legs slowly returned, but in round 4, Navarrete connected with a jolting left hook to Villa’s jaw that sent Villa down for the second time. Villa’s legs were gone, but he intelligently wrapped up Navarrete to help make it through the round.

Little by little, Villa boxed his way to the point where he looked competitive against Navarrete, but he never reversed the towering tide that Navarrete established. Villa showed off his boxing ability, but his lack of power limited his chances of crawling back into the contest. It was a lost cause, but making it to the finish line was a small victory for Villa’s pride.

Emanuel Navarrete knocked Ruben Villa down twice but couldn’t put him away. Villa is a skilled boxer, but his lack of power is his Achilles heel.

The judges’ scorecards were surprisingly close with two scores of 114-112 and one of 115-111. Regardless of their questionably close margin, all three judges scored the fight for Navarrete, the new WBO featherweight champion.

During the post-fight interview, Navarrete showed his opponent respect.

“He used his skills,” said Navarrette. “Once he felt the power, I told you he was going to start moving even more. He started to get on his bike, move around the ring.”

When asked about his feelings about being a two-division world champion, Navarrete responded, “I’m very happy. I’m very proud of this belt because it is a symbol of all the sacrifices that my team and I have made.”

Now that Navarrete has a belt, there are three more out there. Navarrete said he wants a unification bout and named Josh Warrington as his preferred dancing partner. A Navarrete vs. Warrington matchup would be an action fight that fans would enjoy. Hopefully, a fight of that magnitude can get made soon.