By Ian S Palmer
Southpaw Omar Narvaez of Argentina will be putting his WBO Junior Bantamweight Title on the line this Saturday, December 21 in Buenos Aires, Argentina against challenger David Carmona of Mexico. The veteran Narvaez will enter the ring with an impressive record of 40-1-2 along with 21 Kos. The challenger Carmona comes into the contest with a mark of 16-1-4 with eight Kos to his name.
Narvaez’s only career loss has been against former world champion Nonito Donaire in October 2011. Narvaez dropped a wide unanimous decision as he seemed to be intent on going the distance rather than attempting to take Donaire’s title. However, since that disappointing performance Narvaez has won five consecutive bouts including wins over Felipe Orucuta, Johnny Garcia and Hiroyuki Hisataka.
Narvaez is 38 years old now and presumably in the twilight of his career. However, he still has the goods and is considered to be one of the best junior bantamweights in the world still. This will be his ninth title defense if he’s successful against Carmona, who was formerly a WBO youth champion. Carmona’s only career loss came against Fernando Curiel by a six-round split decision in November 2010.
The Mexican challenger has won 12 out of his last 14 bouts since the loss, but he hasn’t taken on any top-ranked opponents in that time. Still, the young man is a legitimate prospect and this will be a good test for him. Like the champion, he’s got decent power, but nothing spectacular, and he’s also the owner of an effective left hook. The only thing going against him in this bout really is his lack of experience. He certainly hasn’t fought anybody of Narvaez’s class before since turning pro back in 2009.
He beat Antonio Tostado Garcia in September by a 10-round unanimous decision and that could very well be his most impressive win up to now. Carmona has the skills and youth to make this a competitive bout even with his lack of experience. He’ll find that the champion likes to work his way inside to land his power blows and he very rarely backs up in a fight. Narvaez may not be the most active puncher in the sport, but he’s effective when throwing combinations and moving forward.
This is an interesting matchup between an aging champion and a young up-an-coming prospect. Carmona will need to keep his distance and try to land his shots from the outside if possible. However, over the 12-round distance the champion Narvaez is likely to wear him down and try to pin him up against the ropes. If the champion is as aggressive as he’s been throughout his career, other than the bout against Donaire, he should be able to hang onto his title by unanimous decision.
