Emanuel Navarrete vs Francisco Horta Preview Dec. 7th
WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Emanuel Navarrete of Mexico returns to the ring after a short layoff as he faces fellow countryman Francisco Horta in Mexico this Saturday, December 7th. The 12-round fight can be seen on ESPN+ in America. Navarrete last fought in September when he stopped Juan Miguel Elorde in the fourth round and this is his fourth fight and title defence in seven months. Horta was last in the ring in August when he beat Francisco Alarcon by an eight-round majority decision.
Navarrete vs Horta Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Francisco Horta +1441
- Emanuel Navarrete -2941
My Pick
The 24-year-old Navarrete won the title by beating Isaac Dogboe by unanimous decision last December and then stopped him in the 12th round in their rematch in May. Navarrete has an impressive mark of 29-1 along with 25 big Kos which gives him a current knockout ratio of 83.3 per cent so he obviously has quite a bit of power. The champion stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 72-inch reach. He turned pro back in 2012 when he was just 17 and has boxed 132 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 many of Navarrete’s opponents up to now though other than perhaps Dennis Contreras, Luis Orozco and Glenn Porras. But on the bright side, most of his foes have entered the ring with winning records. He proved he has a solid chin against Dogboe and his power didn’t appear to fade in the later rounds.
Horta is a 26-year-old with a record of 20-3-1 with 10 Kos. He made his pro debut in 2011 and has 145 rounds of experience under his belt. He’s 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 72-inch reach so has an inch edge in height on the champion. Horta’s not known as much of a banger with a current knockout ratio of 41.7 per cent and he hasn’t fought anybody recognizable as of yet so is taking a huge step up in class this Saturday.
Horta’s draw was an eight-round affair with Marco Antonio Chable in 2016 while his defeats came to Jose Rubio and Jose Cen Torres by consecutive eight-round unanimous decisions in his third and fourth pro fights in 2012 and his last loss was also an eight-round unanimous decision to Guillermo Rodriguez in August of 2014. This means Horta’s unbeaten in 13 contests since then, albeit against limited opposition.
Prediction…
Horta is basically an unknown outside Mexico but he has a solid chin so should be able to make it a competitive fight for a few rounds anyway. He’ll need to earn the champion’s respect pretty quickly though or Navarrete will eventually just walk through him though. I’m expecting the heavy-punching Navarrete to keep his title Saturday night without too much trouble however.
This should be a routine defence for Navarrete.
Play: Navarrete -2941 @ BetOnline.ag
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Emanuel Navarrete betting • Francisco Horta betting