One of the great young fighters of the modern era will look to claim a championship in his third weight class during the first weekend of February. Emanuel Navarrete (36-1 with 30 knockouts) has already won titles at junior featherweight and featherweight, and he will look to claim the vacant WBO junior lightweight title on Friday. Liam Wilson (11-1 with seven knockouts) has fought at this weight since turning pro back in the summer of 2018, so he has a bit of an advantage from that perspective, but Wilson is still a massive underdog per the boxing betting odds against Navarrete.
We will see the great Emanuel Navarrete enter the ring once again on Friday, February 3, 2023, at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Navarrete will face Liam Wilson for the WBO junior lightweight championship in a Top Rank event on ESPN. The main card is expected to start at 10 p.m. ET, and the ringwalks for the main event are slated to get underway at about 1 a.m. ET.
When: Friday, February 3, 2023
Where: Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Why: WBO junior lightweight title fight
Emanuel Navarrete vs Liam Wilson Betting Odds
Emanuel Navarrete -2550
Liam Wilson +978
Due to his pedigree and history, Emanuel Navarrete is an enormous favorite over Liam Wilson in their title fight. If you are unfamiliar with betting on boxing, you would need to plunk down $2,550 just to win $100 with a Navarrete victory here. Meanwhile, a $100 bet on Wilson to pull off the upset would result in a $978 profit.
As the fight nears, there will be decision betting too. You will be able to bet on whether the fight is decided by KO, TKO, or decision, and you can bet on which boxer will win the fight in that fashion as well.
Emanuel Navarrete vs Liam Wilson Preview
It didn’t take long for Emanuel Navarrete to claim a title after turning pro in February 2012. Navarete was one month past his 17th birthday when he turned pro, opting to cash in on his skills sooner rather than later after a fantastic amateur career. As a professional, he won his first five fights by TKO in the first round, but then he lost a four-round unanimous decision to Daniel Argueta in the flyweight final of Cinturón de Oro XVIII. That is the one blemish on his record to date and it comes with a lot of controversy as Argueta did not participate in the weigh-in the day before the match.
After fighting once a month as required in Cinturón de Oro XVIII, Navarrete decided to be more sparing with his fights in the future. He only entered the ring twice in the next two years, and his busiest year after that came in 2017 when he took five fights. Navarrete continued to pick up victory after victory though and challenged Isaac Dogboe for the WBO junior featherweight title in December 2018.
Dogboe lost a unanimous decision to Navarrete and was convincingly knocked out in the rematch five months later. Navarrete went on to defend that belt four more times, knocking out each opponent in his title defenses before moving up to challenge for the featherweight title. We saw Navarrete secure a unanimous decision victory to claim the WBO featherweight belt over Ruben Villa in October 2020, and he made three successful title defenses before this fight.
Liam Wilson doesn’t have anywhere near the same experience as Navarrete. Wilson turned pro less than five years ago, and he was knocked out by Joe Noynay in July 2021. He did avenge that defeat with a knockout of his own eight months later, and then he scored a unanimous decision win over 37-1 Matias Carlos Adrian Rueda for the WBO International junior lightweight title to set up this title fight.
It's going to be almost impossible for Wilson to win this fight. Navarrete has a two-inch reach advantage, and he has shown that he has an excellent jab that can keep opponents at bay. He should be able to finish Wilson within the distance, and that bet has a lot more value than simply betting Navarrete to win at -2500.
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