This is Navarrete’s second defence of his WBO featherweight world title after winning the title at the end of 2020. He made his first defence versus Christopher Diaz and won in an entertaining fight that ended in the 12th round when Navarrete stopped Diaz.
Joet Gonzalez lost a wide decision to Shakur Stevenson in his first title shot but bounced back with a good win over Miguel Marriagia which earned him a mandatory title shot. Joet Gonzalez is a come forward fighter with solid defence and skills. He’s not great at any one thing but also isn’t bad at any one thing.
Emanuel Navarrete has one of the most unique styles in boxing and is fairly unpredictable. His reach is so long that he lands punches that normally wouldn’t have any chance of landing and is comfortable fighting in a weird rhythm. He has a great left uppercut from range and can both box and brawl when needed. He’s got power and isn’t afraid to let his hands go in five to ten punch combinations.
I think Emanuel Navarrete’s power will tell over the twelve rounds as he’ll drop Gonzalez once or twice and hurt him in other rounds. Gonzalez will have opportunities to have success but I don’t think he has the power to trouble Navarrete and doesn’t have the technical skills to perform a masterclass and out-box him. When Navarrete is against better competition he normally goes late into the fight so I predict he’ll win a decision after twelve rounds or may potentially get a late stoppage.
Boxing Fulcrum 