Emanuel Navarrete faces Robson Conceicao on Thursday, November 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The contest pits Mexico’s three-division world champion against Rio 2016 Olympic gold medalist of Brazil. The pair squares off in the co-feature on the card, headlined by Shakur Stevenson vs Edwin De Los Santos live on ESPN.
Navarrete brings to the ring his WBO super featherweight title. Conceicao makes his third attempt to become world champion. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds.
In his previous outing in August in Glendale, Emanuel Navarrete (38-1, 31 KOs) defeated Oscar Valdez by unanimous decision and made the first successful defense of his belt. The 39-year-old native of San Juan Zitlaltepec, Mexico claimed the vacant title by TKO in the ninth round against Liam Wilson in February at the same venue.
“Robson represents an enormous threat in this fight,” Emanuel Navarrete said at the final pre-fight press conference. “His style is very difficult. He’s a fighter who has an Olympic style. That makes it difficult for anyone with my style. But we worked on that. We worked on that in order to make the fight easier for me in that regard.”
“I like being active. I like working. I always like fighting, and I take the opportunities that appear in my career. So, basically, I just take advantage of it.”
‘It’s tough to get three title opportunities’
Robson Conceicao (17-2, 8 KOs) was in action in June in New York, where he faced Nicolas Polanco in the bout that ended in No Contest. Last September in Newark, New Jersey, the native of Salvador, Brazil fought Shakur Stevenson for the unified WBC and WBO super featherweight titles, but fell short dropping a unanimous decision. In September 2021 in Tucson, Arizona, the 35-year-old challenged Oscar Valdez for the WBC belt, but also lost by UD.
“I heard of this [fight] the day before [a scheduled fight in September], and I knew it was a big opportunity,” Robson Conceicao said. “And so, I was left very happy, and I accepted immediately. The more difficult things are for me, the better. So, I accepted immediately.”
“It’s tough to get three title opportunities. But that’s what happened in the amateurs. It took me three attempts to become an Olympic champion. So, the same will happen in professional boxing.”
The main event features Shakur Stevenson of the United States up against Edwin De Los Santos of Dominican Republic. The pair battles it out for the vacant WBC lightweight title.
Undefeated two-division world champion Stevenson moves up a weight class and looks to conquer a new division. Once beaten contender De Los Santos makes his first attempt to become champion.
In Australia, Stevenson vs De Los Santos airs on Friday, November 17 live on Kayo.
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