Emanuel Navarrete vs Liam Wilson Preview February 3rd, 2023
Former WBO Super Bantamweight and Featherweight Champion Emanuel Navarrete of Mexico will going after the vacant WBO Super Featherweight Title this Friday, February 3rd when he meets Liam Wilson of Australia. The 12-rounder from Glendale, Arizona can be seen live in America on ESPN and ESPN+ while fans in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports Arena and those in Canada can see it on TSN 2. Navarrete last fought in August when he stopped Eduardo Baez in the sixth round to defend his featherweight crown. Wilson last saw action in June when he beat Matias Rueda via a 10-round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBO International Super Featherweight Title.
Navarrete vs Wilson Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Liam Wilson +800
- Emanuel Navarrete -1500
My Pick
The 28-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.
Navarette moved up and won 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 his last outing. This means Navarrete enters the ring with an official mark of 36-1 with 30 big Ko’s. He owns a current knockout ratio of 81.1 per cent so obviously some power in his punches. He 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 195 rounds since.
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. Navarrete also beat the likes of Dennis Contreras, Luis Orozco and Glenn Porras earlier in his career. He’s proven to have a pretty solid chin so far, especially against Dogboe and Navarrete’s power doesn’t appear to fade in the later rounds. However, fans would like to see him step up the level of opposition. He was supposedly supposed to meet Oscar Valdez in a great matchup, but if fell through.
As for Wilson, he’s a 26-year-old who fights out of Redcliffe, Australia. He climbs through the ropes with a mark of 11-1 with 7 Ko’s and has boxed just 61 rounds since making his pro debut in 2018. He had a solid amateur career before that as he made it to the quarterfinals of the 2018 Commonwealth Games and won the 2017 Australian National Championship and 2016 Australian Golden Gloves.
He also captured the 2013 Australian Youth National Championship and fought in several other top-grade tournaments. Wilson measures just over 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 70-inch reach which gives him a two-and-a-half inch height advantage over Navarrete but he gives up two inches in reach. As far as power goes, Wilson is carrying around a current knockout ratio of 58.3 per cent.
Since turning pro he’s also won the vacant IBF Youth, Australian, and WBO Asia Pacific Super Featherweight Belts. He was stopped in the fifth round by Joe Noynay in July 2021 in his first shot at that title after being dropped in the first and fourth rounds but stopped Noynay in the second round of their rematch eight months later. Noynay missed weight in that fight and the belt was on the line for Wilson only.
Prediction…
Wilson had a fine amateur career but has faced limited opposition as a pro and has never fought for money outside of Australia. 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 and Wilson’s skills could give him a bit of trouble. Navarette is moving up in weight again here so it’ll be interesting to see how much of his power stays with him as he’s probably going to need it against Wilson. I’m expecting Navarette to win another title Friday night.
Navarrete’s power should be the difference.
Play Navarrete -1500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Emanuel Navarrete betting • Liam Wilson betting