Emanuel Navarrete Keeps His WBO Featherweight World Title After Beating Challenger Christopher Diaz
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Emanuel Navarrete beat challenger Christopher Diaz in an intense 12 round bout for Navarrete’s WBO Featherweight World title. Navarrete was the clear favorite to win, especially given his advantage of an 8-inch-longer reach. Still, Diaz put up a good fight against the champion.
By round 4, Navarrete got knock-down points for a left-handed uppercut with roughly 40 seconds left on the clock. After the referee counted to 9, Diaz was able to regain his composure and get up, making it clear he was not out of the fight just yet.
Round 7 saw more punches being thrown by both fighters as the tension rose. Diaz ended up getting a point deduction in this round for hitting Navarette in the back. Following this, Navarrete managed to land another uppercut in a two-hit combo.
In round 8, Diaz took two knockdowns from Navarrete, the first of which left him bleeding from his mouth and nose. From both knockdowns, Diaz took his time and got up after the referee made it to the eight-count.
In round 11, Diaz managed to keep Navarrete on the ropes for a while, but he still didn’t manage to take Navarrete down.
Finally, in round 12, Navarrete knocked Diaz down for a third time with a little over 30 seconds left on the clock. Diaz once again got back up after the referee had made it to the eight-count, but at that point Diaz’s team called the fight, thus declaring Navarrete the winner.
While the fight was won by TKO, Navarrete was in control for most of the fight and maintained the power in the fight, both in terms of output and control. Navarrette landed 41 of 90 power punches during the entire bout.
After the fight had been called and Navarrete was announced the winner, he and his team were all excited and thrilled by the win. Navarrete did go over and talk to his opponent, who he had previously referred to as being 'one of the best', and the two shared a brief hug as they spoke to each other.