Emanuel Navarrete vs Eduardo Baez Preview August 20th, 2022
Former WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Emanuel Navarrete of Mexico will be defending his WBO Featherweight Title for the third time when he meets fellow countryman Eduardo Baez this Saturday, August 20th. He last fought in October when he beat Joet Gonzalez by unanimous decision. Baez last boxed in March when he edged Enrique Vivas by 10-round majority decision. The 12-rounder from San Diego, California can be seen live in America on ESPN+ and ESPN while those in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports Action.
Navarrete vs Baez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Eduardo Baez +600
- Emanuel Navarrete -1000
My Pick
The 27-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 then 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 commission present during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He won the vacant WBO Featherweight Crown in 2020 with a unanimous decision over Ruben Villa then defended it by stopping Christopher Diaz in the 12th round before decisioning Gonzalez in his last outing. This means Navarrete enters the ring with an official mark of 35-1 with 29 big Ko’s. He owns a current knockout ratio of 80.6 per cent so obviously has quite a bit of power in his punches. The champion stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 72-inch reach, turned pro back in 2012 when he was just 17years old and has boxed 177 rounds since then.
Navarrete’s 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. Other than meeting and beating Dogboe twice, the average fan won’t really recognize too many of Navarrete’s opponents up to now though other than Gonzalez, Diaz and perhaps Ruben Villa, Dennis Contreras, Luis Orozco and Glenn Porras. He has proven he has a solid chin against Dogboe and his power doesn’t appear to fade in the later rounds.
As for Baez, he’s a 27-year-old who fights out of Calexico, California. He climbs through the ropes with a mark of 21-2-2 with 7 Ko’s and has boxed 154 rounds since making his pro debut in 2013. He’s 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 70-inch reach which gives him a two-inch height advantage over the champion but he has a two-inch reach disadvantage.
Since turning pro he’s won the vacant Mexican Super Bantamweight Title. His first loss came to Mauricio Lara via a six-round unanimous decision in 2017 and he dropped a a 10-round majority decision to Ra’eese Aleem last November for the vacant WBO NABO Super Bantamweight Belt. His two draws came against Mario Rivera over six rounds in 2016 and Alfredo Vargas over 10 rounds in 2018.
Baez lacks power as his current knockout ratio stands at 28 per cent but three of his last six wins have come by stoppage. However, he’s yet to take on a legitimate contender other than perhaps Aleem. He’ll be stepping up in class this weekend for sure as most of his previous bouts have been against journeymen opponents.
Prediction…
Navarrete loves to keep busy and he’s always in top shape and when you add his power into the equation he’s quite a handful and tough to beat. He has struggled on occasion but Baez doesn’t really have the power to keep him at bay. I’m expecting the champion to hang onto his title Saturday night.
Navarrete’s power should be the difference.
Play Navarrete -1000 @ BetOnline.ag
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Eduardo Baez betting • Emanuel Navarrete betting