KISSIMMEE, Fla. (April 22, 2021) — Central Florida will turn into Northern Puerto Rico on Saturday evening when two of the island’s favorite boxers look to make emphatic statements.

In the main event from a sold-out Silver Spurs Arena, two-weight Mexican WBO world champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete will make the first defense of his WBO featherweight world title against Puerto Rican challenger Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz. The co-feature will see Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga, 16-0 with 16 first-round knockouts, test himself against veteran contender Demond Nicholson in an eight-round super middleweight tilt.

Navarrete-Diaz and Berlanga-Nicholson will air live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, with undercard action set to stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. At the final presser, this is what the fighters had to say.

Emanuel Navarrete

“I know he has been fighting at 126 and even at 130. I think it will be tough to hurt a fighter that has fought at higher divisions, but I believe I have the punching power to knock him out.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve fought in front of fans. I miss the vibes of having the fans in the arena. Even though 90 percent of the fans will be cheering for ‘Pitufo,’ I feel like the pressure is going to be on him because he needs to perform for his people, for his fans. I’ve always been a fighter that’s been on the road, fighting away from home. I feel like the pressure is on him.”

“I started training camp in Mexico. Things were not as tough there, and the hard part of training camp I did in Tijuana. I want to thank my co-promoter Zanfer for the help they’ve given me. This camp has been very good, unlike the last camp for {Ruben} Villa, where everything was closed. So it was really tough to train for that fight.”

Christopher Diaz

“I’ve been in the big arenas a lot of times {against} Shakur Stevenson, Masayuki Ito in front of 8,00 people. Sold out against Navarrete. I think I have the experience to become world champion Saturday night.”

“If you’ve seen my last two fights, I’ve been a different fighter. I go to the ring to perform, to show the people I can be a star. Navarrete is a great champion. It’s a pleasure for me to share the ring with him. We’re going to be in the history books as part of Puerto Rico versus Mexico, but again, there are levels to this. Navarrete has been in a lot of title fights, but this is my second one, and I can say my third one because the Shakur Stevenson was that level a fight.”

“{After the Stevenson fight}, when I came home and I saw my babies…I have three daughters and a beautiful wife. As a leader in my house, I have to bring the food to the table, and this is the easiest way. I mean, it’s not easy because you get hit, but at the end of the day, I go back to the gym with that mentality. I work hard.”

“I want to tell Navarrete that I respect him as a person. He’s a humble guy, a family man like myself. It’s tough to become a one-time champion. I had my opportunity already, and I just hope he brings his best so we can give the fans a great fight.”

“We’re fighting a 50-50 fight. I’m happy because he knows I’m the most dangerous fighter he’s fought to this day. I’m just comfortable. I got confidence in myself. My team believes in me. My family believes in me. That means a lot to me because it’s my family. That’s my team. That’s my daughters yelling to me. That’s the most important thing. I don’t think about Navarrete’s fans who are against me because he deserves that, he’s a two-time world champion.”

Photos by M. Williams / Top Rank

WATCH PRESS CONFERENCE

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PHILADELPHIA, PA/ / ORANGE, CA. (Sept. 21, 2020) – On Friday night, October 9th, undefeated WBO number-two ranked featherweight contender Ruben Villa (18-0, 5 KOs) gets his much-deserved world title shot when he takes on former WBO super bantamweight world champion, and WBO number-one ranked contender, Emanuel Navarrete (32-1, 28 KOs), in a battle for the WBO World Featherweight title.

Navarrete is undefeated in the last eight-years, which spans 27 fights.

The fight will take place at “The Bubble” inside the MGM Grand Conference Center, and will be televised live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

“I have been working my butt off since I was a little kid for this opportunity, and I just can’t wait to get in there and fight for the title,” said Villa, who is promoted by Banner Promotions and Thompson Boxing. “Navarrete is a real aggressive Mexican fighter. He is coming to win. He was a former champion, and I am the underdog, but I have the style to beat him. We have kept the camp the same. We just treat it like it’s every other fight, just that this fight is for a world title. All my hard work is paying off. I am honored and excited to represent everyone who has supported me and my journey to become a world champion, and I plan on bringing the world title back to my home city of Salinas, California.”

“This is what we envisioned for Ruben when we signed him out of the amateurs, to be fighting for a world title,” said Artie Pelullo, President of Banner Promotions. “That opportunity has now arrived, and we expect Ruben to put on a great performance on October 9th and win the WBO Featherweight World Title. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Stephen Espinoza and Gordon Hall of Showtime for all their help with the development of Ruben’s career, by showcasing him on ShoBox that has helped get him ready for this fight.”

“Ruben Villa is a terrific fighter and has the ability to make his dream to become a world champion a reality. The hard work that Banner Promotions and us at Thompson Boxing have put on his career will surely pay off,” said Ken Thompson, CEO of Thompson Boxing. “Navarrete is a terrific champion and it will be a huge challenge for our fighter, but I’m sure Ruben will rise up to the occasion and make us all proud.”

Photo By Emily Harney / Banner Promotions

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☑️Upcoming WBO World Title Bouts:

💥November 30 – Undisputed WBO Welterweight Female Champion Cecilia Braekhus Vs. Victoria Noelia Bustos @ Casino de Monte Carlo Salle Medecin, Monte Carlo, Monaco.

💥November 30 – WBO Bantamweight World Champion Zolani Tete Vs. John Riel Casimero @ Arena Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom.

💥December 7 – Unified WBO Heavyweight Champion Andy Ruiz Vs. Anthony Joshua @ Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

💥December 7 – WBO Jr. Featherweight World Champion Emanuel Navarrete Vs. Francisco Horta @ Auditorio GNP Seguros, Puebla, Mexico.

💥December 14 – WBO Welterweight World Champion Terence Crawford Vs. Egidijus Kavaliauskas @ Madison Square Garden, New York, USA.

💥December 14 – WBO Jr. Flyweight Female Champion Tenkai Tsunami Vs. Jessebelle Pagaduan @ Uchinoura Ginga Arena, Kimotsuki -cho, Kagoshima, Japan.

💥December 31 – WBO Jr. Bantamweight Female World Champion Miyo Yoshida Vs. Li Ping Shi @ Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan.

💥December 31 – WBO Flyweight World Champion Kosei Tanaka Vs. Wulan Tuolehazi @ Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan.

💥December 31 – WBO Jr. Bantamweight World Champion Kazuto Ioka Vs. Jeyvier Cintron @ Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan.

💥January 10, 2020 – For vacant WBO Jr. Middleweight Female Championship Claressa Shields Vs. Ivana Habazin @ Ocean Resort Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA.

💥February 1, 2020 – Unified Jr. Welterweight Champion Jose Ramirez Vs. Viktor Postol @ Mission Hills Haikou, Haikou, China.

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