Emanuel Navarrete is scheduled to face Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez this Saturday, February 28, at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The all-Mexican showdown is set to crown a unified super featherweight champion, with two belts at stake.
At the start of the pre-fight press conference, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced that three-division world champion Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) – who puts his WBO 130-pound title on the line – was not present. Nevertheless, Hearn confirmed that the bout with IBF titleholder Nunez (29-1, 27 KOs) was still on.
“When we arrived in Arizona yesterday, Emanuel Navarrete was very chilled. He was at the Mexican embassy in Mexico City, just rocked up there to get his visa. And no one could find his passport, Hearn said.
“So overnight, we’re having a nice little panic up, myself and the fine folk at Top Rank, and he [Navarrete] went this morning nice and chilled on weight, apparently… Um and he’s currently on a private jet here, slightly delayed, but as far as he’s concerned he’s ready for the fight of his life, on Saturday.”
“We have a main event. They will be facing off here in around 45 minutes to one hour with Nunez and Navarrete.”
Emanuel Navarrete was last in action in May in San Diego, retaining his belt for the fourth time in a bout against Charly Suarez. Nunez is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Christopher Diaz-Velez in September, which marked his first successful title defense.
The press conference featured the undercard fighters; however, the Navarrete vs Nunez face-off did not occur during the broadcast.
Undercard bouts include:
- Tahmir Smalls (16-0, 11 KOs) defending his WBA Continental North America welterweight title against Abel Ramos (28-6-3, 22 KOs).
- Emiliano Vargas (16-0, 13 KOs) defending his WBO Latino and WBC NABF super lightweight titles against Agustin Ezequiel Quintana (22-2-1, 13 KOs).
- Arturo Popoca (17-0-1, 9 KOs) defending his WBC Continental Americas super bantamweight title against Jordan Martinez (16-0, 15 KOs).