Shakur Stevenson vacated the WBO featherweight title to move up to the junior lightweight division three months ago, and the belt has been unclaimed since that point. That will change on Friday, October 9, when Emanuel Navarrete and Ruben Villa meet in the Top Rank bubble to determine the next title holder. Navarrete (31-1-1 with 27 knockouts) was originally supposed to face Jessie Magdaleno, but the latter declined the fight. That led to Villa (18-0 with five knockouts) earning his first major title shot. This bout will air on ESPN.
When: Friday, October 9, 2020
Where: MGM Grand Conference Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Why: WBO featherweight title
Emanuel Navarrete vs Ruben Villa Betting Odds
Check Beck Later
We won’t see boxing betting odds for this bout until the week of the fight, but Navarrete is likely to be a considerable favorite. If you haven’t been doing much betting on boxing, Navarrete could be as much as a -1000 favorite. That means you would need to wager $1000 on him to win $100. Those odds would likely make Villa a +600 underdog, and a $100 bet on him would return a $600 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 Ruben Villa Preview
Navarrete is one of the hardest hitters in the lighter divisions. His first five victories after turning pro were first-round knockouts, and he has kept his power throughout his career. He was 25-1 before he received a title shot, but he proved that his chance was long overdue with a unanimous decision victory over Isaac Dogboe to win the strap back in December.
We saw Navarrete retain the title in a mandatory rematch with Dogboe five months later, and he has held the belt since that point. In August 2019, he beat Francisco De Vaca by TKO in the third round, and he secured fourth-round TKO victories over Juan Miguel Elorde and Francisco Horta before the year was out.
In February, Navarrete faced his toughest opponent since Dogboe when he took on Jeo Santisima. Santisima had never been knocked out before in his career, but Navarrete stopped him in the 11th round to end that streak, cementing his status as the best junior featherweight around. He easily defeated Uriel Lopez in his last ring appearance back in June.
Villa doesn’t have anywhere close to the power of Navarrete. Four of his five knockouts occurred in his first six fights, and his last six bouts have been decided by decision. He has been a sharp technical boxer though, winning all of those other fights by unanimous decision.
A little over a year ago, Villa announced that he was a contender with a victory over Luis Alberto Lopez to claim the vacant WBO International featherweight belt. He defended that belt twice more before the end of the year, but he has not fought since December. There are some concerns about stamina too, as this will be his first 12-round fight.
Log into BookMaker to bet on Emanuel Navarrete vs Ruben Villa. BookMaker is the nation's leading online sportsbook and the premier site to bet on boxing.
