Emanuel Navarrete vs Denis Berinchyk Preview May 18th, 2024
Emanuel Navarrete of Mexico will attempting to win a world title in a fourth weight division as he goes after the vacant WBO Lightweight Belt this Saturday, May 18th by taking on unbeaten Denis Berinchyk of Ukraine. The 12-rounder from San Diego, California can be seen live in America on the ESPN platform while fans in the UK and Ireland can catch it on Sky Sports Action and those in Canada can see it on TSN 5. Navarrete last fought in November when he battled to a controversial draw with Robson Conceicao. Before that, he beat former world champion Oscar Valdez via a unanimous decision in a slugfest. Navarrete had won the vacant WBO Belt after getting up from the canvas in the fourth round to stop Liam Wilson in the ninth round in February, 2023. Berinchyk last boxed in August when beat Anthony Yigit via a 12-round unanimous decision to defend his WBO International Lightweight Belt.
Navarrete vs Berinchyk Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Denis Berinchyk +450
- Emanuel Navarrete -700
My Pick
The 29-year-old Navarrete won the WBO World Super Bantamweight title by beating Isaac Dogboe by unanimous decision in December, 2018 then stopped him in the 12th round in their rematch five months later. He defended it four times with the fifth defence being called a no-contest after he stopped Uriel Lopez in the sixth round because there was no boxing commission present during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Navarette moved up in weight and captured the vacant WBO Featherweight Crown in 2020 with a unanimous decision over Ruben Villa and defended it by stopping Christopher Diaz in the 12th round before decisioning Joet Gonzalez and then stopping Eduardo Baez in six. He then won a title in a third weight division in 2023 with his ninth-round TKO over Liam Wilson. The recent activity sees Navarrete enters the ring with an official mark of 38-1-1 with 31 Ko’s. He has plenty of power in his punches as 81.6 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage and his power doesn’t seem to fade in the later rounds. He has gone the distance in four of his last seven fights though.
Navarette stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 72-inch reach, turned pro back in 2012 when he was just 17 years old and has boxed 228 rounds since. His lone defeat came in his sixth pro bout when he came out on the wrong end of a four-round unanimous decision to Daniel Argueta. Navarrete also owns wins over the likes of Dennis Contreras, Luis Orozco and Glenn Porras earlier in his career. Even though Wilson dropped him in their 2023 battle, he’s proven to have a pretty solid chin so far.
The 36-year-old Berinchyk climbs into the ring with a perfect mark of 18-0 with 9 Ko’s and has boxed 142 rounds since making his pro debut back in 2015. He measures 5-feet-7-inches tall and unfortunately has an unlisted reach, so is the same height as Navarette. As far as power goes, he’s not considered to be a heavy hitter as his current knockout ratio stands at 50 per cent and he has gone the distance in six of his last eight outings.
Berinchyk enjoyed an extensive and successful amateur career and fought in the World Series of Boxing. He also represented his homeland at the 2012 Olympics and the 2011 World Championships and won a silver medal at each competition as a light-welterweight. Berinchyk also has experience in professional bare knuckle boxing. He earned a PhD in physical education and sport from the National University of Ukraine and captured a gold medal at the 2010 World University Boxing Championships and a bronze at the 2013 World University Games.
As a pro he’s also won the vacant WBO Oriental Lightweight Title and has defended the WBO International Belt eight times. His biggest wins have been against Anthony Yigit, Yvan Mendy, Isa Chaniev, Jose Sanchez, Nihito Arakawa, Ismael Garcia and Lorenzo Parra so he’s got experience against some good boxers on his record. Perhaps a bit oddly, this will be his first fight in the United States.
Prediction…
Navarrete is an aggressive fighter with plenty of power. He’s a volume puncher who typically stops opponents with an accumulation of blows but has been on the canvas before. He struggles somewhat against superior boxers and while Berinchyk is a tough son of a gun he doesn’t really possess what you’d call elite boxing skills and he’s now 36 years old. Navarrete’s power usually pulls him through but that may not be the case this weekend. Navarrete was riding a 33-fight winning streak which stretched back 11 years before drawing with Conceicao the last time out. He’s an extremely fan friendly boxer due to his style but he may have go the distance as he moves up to lightweight here. It will be close and a tough fight to win, but I’m expecting Navarrete’s volume punching to do the trick.
Navarrete is naturally more aggressive with better power.
Play Navarrete -700 @ BetOnline.ag
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Denis Berinchyk betting • Denys Berinchyk betting • Emanuel Navarrete betting