Emanuel Navarrete Rallies to KO Eduardo Baez in San Diego

Even on his worst day Emanuel Navarrete proved no lead is too big to overcome in losing almost every round and stopping challenger Eduardo Baez with a near invisible left hook body shot to retain the WBO featherweight title on Saturday.

“That’s a very Mexican punch. It comes from my blood,” Navarrete said.

Drained from losing weight, Navarrete (36-1, 30 KOs) needed multiple rounds to figure out the herky-jerky style of Baez (21-3-2, 7 KOs) in front of a crowd of more than 4,000 fans at the Pechanga Arena.

For five rounds it looked like Mexicali’s Baez had the formula to topple the reign of Mexico City’s Navarrete. But it was just a mirage.

Baez frenetic movements against the taller and longer Navarrete proved to be a conundrum that the featherweight champion couldn’t figure out. Whether it was inside or outside the Mexicali fighter was able to connect and get out of trouble.

Round after round Baez looked in control with left hooks out of clinches and catching Navarrete off balance. Every time the champion tried to attack Baez slipped out of trouble.

In the sixth round Navarrete stepped up the tempo and though he fired from long range, he was left with slicing air. Then during another volley Navarrete sliced a left hook to the body and a right to the head. A second later Baez slumped to the ground to one knee and then all the way to the ground. Referee Jack Reiss counted the Mexicali fighter out at 1:05 in the sixth round.

Navarrete retained the WBO title via knockout.

“I expected a fight like this. He’s a Mexican fighter with a lot of heart,” said Navarrete. “It was a lot harder than I anticipated.”

The champion said losing more than 16 pounds too close to the fight may have drained him. But he was still able to make weight and defend the world title a third time. The last two took place in the same arena.

Making weight was a problem for Navarrete.

“I’m not going to deny the fact,” said Navarrete about being drained after losing weight.

Other Bouts

San Diego’s Giovanni Santillan (30-0, 16 KOs) out-maneuvered Mexico’s Julio Luna Avila (19-1-2, 10 KOs) in a back-and-forth welterweight bout to win the battle of undefeated welterweights by decision.

Each fighter had moments with southpaw Santillan forcing the taller Luna to fight mostly inside for the bulk of the fight. Though he kept the Mexican fighter leaning against the ropes, Luna was able to connect with sneaky uppercuts as Santillan punished the body.

In the last two rounds Santillan began firing jabs and three-punch combinations that surprised Luna. Neither fighter was ever in serious trouble but Santillan did suffer cuts on the side of his head and under his right eye due to accidental head collisions. After 10 rounds one judge scored it 96-94 while two others 100-90 all for Santillan.

Nico Ali Walsh (6-0, 4 KOs), the grandson of Muhammad Ali, delivered a body shot knockout win over Reyes Sanchez (7-3, 3 KOs) in the second round of their middleweight fight. It was a rematch of their first fight that took place last year in Madison Square Garden and ended in a majority decision. There was no debate when Walsh connected with a left hook to the rib cage of Sanchez who was counted out.

A battle between undefeated Mexican sluggers saw Lindolfo Delgado (16-0, 13 KOs) walk away with the victory over the taller and sturdy Omar Aguilar (24-1, 23 KOs) in a heck of a super lightweight clash.

The eight-round affair saw Delgado nearly drop Aguilar with a sneak left uppercut but referee Jack Reiss ruled it was a take down. Both Mexican fighters connected numerous times but Delgado’s ability to slip and counter gave him the edge for most of the fight. The judges saw it 77-75 and 79-73 twice for Delgado.

Sacramento’s (18-1, 12 KOs) Xavier Martinez out-hustled and out-slugged Houston’s Alejandro “Pork Chop” Guerrero (12-3, 9 KOs) to win the knockout in the 5^th round in their super featherweight clash.

Guerrero opened up the fight blazing away but then Martinez got his timing down and began countering the big shots from the Texas fighter. From that point on Martinez took over the fight little by little until he began a steady battering that forced referee Eddie Hernandez Sr. to halt the beating at 2:57 of the fifth round.

A lightweight battle saw Bakersfield’s Miguel “Caveman” Contreras (12-1-1, 6 KOs) battle his way to a unanimous decision win over Honduras’ Josec Ruiz (23-7-3, 16 KOs) after eight rounds. No knockdowns were scored in a fight that saw power shots exchanged every round but neither fighter was ever hurt. Judges scored it 79-73 and 80-72 twice for Contreras.

Local fighter Austin Brooks (8-0, 2 KOs) pleased the hometown San Diego fans by rocking L.A.  fighter Oliver Galicia (5-1-1, 3 KOs) and scoring a knockdown early in their super featherweight match. Though unable to get the stoppage, Brooks dominated with his athleticism in winning by unanimous decision after four rounds 40-35 on all three cards.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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