Navarette ‘The Cowboy’ beats Wilson in bar room brawl
Plus, Hitchens plays with his food and AJ return confirmed
In the end it was no surprise to see a man who calls himself ‘Vaquero’ and indulges in a cowboy persona engage in yet another gunslinging affair. Ever since Emanuel Navarrete stunned Isaac Dogboe to win the WBO super-bantamweight crown in 2018, the Mexican’s unorthodox brand of excitement has prevailed over foes of all style and description.
Swiftly climbing the weights, Navarrete’s latest title bid arrived at super-featherweight. He was originally supposed to tackle Oscar Valdez, but the man trained by Eddy Reynoso withdrew from the fight. Valdez first congratulated Navarrete after his eventual win last Friday evening and then insisted he would be back in May to challenge the new champion and expose his flaws.
Those flaws have always been present and a few came to light as Emanuel toiled to defeat a pesky foe to claim the vacant WBO crown at 130. Written off beforehand as a late replacement, lacking the experience to cause an upset, Australia’s Liam Wilson tried to cash in his lottery ticket in round four.
Photo Credit: Sky Sports/Top Rank
Technically limited but extremely tough, Wilson had a potent left hook and was not afraid to use it. Cheered on by his family at ringside, Wilson had the Mexican’s senses swimming as he sat on the verge of a huge world title victory.
Seeking to become a three-weight world champion, Navarrete looked pudgy around the waist and was slow to react. After Emanuel spat out his gumshield in a sly veteran move, referee Chris Flores was equally as pensive to let him receive more punishment. Whether unwittingly or with malice, the third man fussed and fumbled, allowing the fight favourite vital seconds to recover.
It was another point of contention after suspicious goings on at the weigh-in led some to suggest the scales had been tampered with by a devious official. Weight issues or not, watching with great interest at ringside, Shakur Stevenson would surely expect to box rings around this bloated version of the winner.
Having dropped and hurt his opponent early, Liam Wilson switched stances and piled on the pressure. Ultimately, it was Navarrete’s body shots that ultimately turned the fight. Only when Navarrete stopped hunting upstairs and switched his attention to the body did the momentum begin to swing in his favour. Wilson’s energy sapped and the Queensland native became an increasingly stationary target.
As Navarrete continued to land head snapping shots with alarming regularity, the fight was stopped. No shame to a visitor who outperformed all expectations and deserves another chance in the limelight. Travelling away from home to train under Barry Hunter in Washington DC, Wilson gave his all in a situation that was stacked against him on every level.
BAUZA TAKES A BEATING AT THE HANDS OF HITCHENS
Featuring on the undercard of Amanda Serrano’s win over Erika Cruz (see podcast episode below), two unbeaten prospects put their records on the line in MSG. While their statistics matched up on paper, once the first bell sounded it became quickly apparent that Richardson Hitchens was the superior operator.
Quite how John Bauza made it to the final bell is anybody’s guess. Between the ref’s reluctance to intervene, Hitchen’s risk averse nature and Bauza and his corner showing unnecessary bravery, the New Yorker made it on through.
There is little doubt about Hitchens’ overall skill set. Whenever the Brooklyn boxer lets his hands go he has subtle speed and deadly accuracy. Richardson showed here and in his previous win over Malik Hawkins that he can deal with bigger opponents.
The one knock on his approach, which was a hangover of his time with the PBC, is Hitchens’ passive demeanour. Rather than finishing off a weary, beaten down foe he allowed Bauza to hear the final bell.
UNBEATEN BAZINYAN LEADING THE WAY IN MONTREAL
Canada-based Armenian Erik Bazinyan has a flashy record but he struggled with the attributes of Alantez Fox before posting a majority decision win last Thursday. Fox is a sizeable problem to solve for anyone, given his height, reach and movement.
Bazinyan plodded along for much of the contest trying to force openings. Whenever Fox stood his ground and pushed the hometown fighter back he noticeably struggled. Unless Bazinyan makes dramatic improvements he’ll be operating at this kind of level for the foreseeable future.
Further down the latest installment of the always enjoyable ‘Eye of the Tiger’ cards, debutant Wilkens Mathieu showed poise, power and promise as the 18-year-old blasted away Slovakia’s Zsolt Birkas in a round.
Yves Ulysse Jr may be looking at retirement as he suffered career defeat number three at the dynamite fists of underdog Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela. The Mexican starched Ulysse with an uppercut after barely 50 seconds of action.
NUTHOUSE NOTES
Anthony Joshua’s comeback fight against Jermaine Franklin has been confirmed for April 1. While it would’ve been nice to go straight in to a Dillian Whyte fight, Franklin isn’t the worst opponent on the block.
It won’t be a Pay-Per-View, instead included as part of the ever-increasing DAZN subscription package. This is a purely benevolent gesture and absolutely nothing to do with the fact that fans would baulk at the thought of shelling out for a substandard offering.
About Steve: Experienced boxing writer, author of 8 books and podcaster of over 400 eps. 15+ years in the sport. Covered hundreds of shows for newspapers and Boxing News magazine. Chief script writer for Motivedia channel.
Thanks again Steve. Navarette’s physique was rather odd wasn’t it!? Exciting fighter but think both Valdez and Stevenson pick him apart. My first time watching Hitchens and I will definitely be watching again. May be in the minority with others wishing he’d stepped on the gas but he is a classy classy operator