Emanuel Navarrete-Denys Berinchyk Lightweight Title May 18th

Mexican world champion Emanuel “El Vaquero” Navarrete aims to join an esteemed circle of his compatriots, embarking on a journey into a new weight division to face a formidable challenger.

Navarrete is slated to square off against Ukraine’s Denys Berinchyk for the vacant WBO lightweight world championship on Saturday, May 18 at the Pechanga Arena San Diego. Hailing proudly from San Juan Zitlaltepec, Navarrete endeavors to emulate the illustrious achievements of Mexican boxing icons such as Erik Morales, Jorge Arce, Juan Manuel Marquez, Leo Santa Cruz, and Canelo Alvarez by claiming a fourth world title across different weight classes.

In the welterweight co-feature, the spotlight shines on San Diego’s own Giovani Santillan, the WBO's top contender, as he returns to thrill his hometown fans. His opponent for the evening remains to be announced.

Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KOs) made his mark by clinching his inaugural world title with a stunning upset victory over Isaac Dogboe for the WBO junior featherweight crown in December 2018. Following five successful title defenses, he ascended to featherweight, where he dethroned Ruben Villa to become a two-weight champion. The 29-year-old then defended his belt three times before venturing into the junior lightweight division, where he halted Liam Wilson in the ninth round to claim the WBO strap. His tenure in this weight class saw two successful defenses, notably decisioning former two-division world champion Oscar Valdez in a thrilling all-Mexican clash in August and securing a majority draw against Brazilian Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceição in November, after dropping him twice.

Meanwhile, Santillan (32-0, 17 KOs), who launched his professional career in May 2012, has steadily climbed the welterweight ranks. His recent victories include a seventh-round stoppage of Jeovanis Barraza in 2022 and a dominant performance against Erick Bone, whom he defeated via a 10-round decision. In his latest outing, Santillan captured the attention of the boxing world with a commanding six-round demolition of the number one contender, Alexis Rocha, at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. With this impressive trajectory, Santillan stands on the verge of becoming the second San Diego-born world champion, following in the footsteps of Paul Vaden, who secured the IBF junior middleweight world title in 1995.

Viewers can catch the action-packed showdown between Navarrete and Berinchyk, alongside Santillan's eagerly anticipated return, broadcasted LIVE on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.