By Ian S Palmer
Original article: https://www.sportsbetlistings.com/boxing/emanuel-navarrete-vs-robson-conceicao-betting-odds-and-prediction/22216/
WBO Super Featherweight Champion Emanuel Navarrete of Mexico will be putting his title on the line against Brazil’s Robson Conceicao this Thursday, November 16th. The 12-rounder from T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen live in America on ESPN and ESPN+ while fans in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports Arena and those in Canada can see it on TSN 5. Navarrete last fought in August when he beat former world champion Oscar Valdez in a slugfest. Navarrete had won the vacant belt after getting up from the canvas in the fourth round to stop Liam Wilson in the ninth round in February. Conceicao last boxed in June when he fought to a two-round no-contest with Nicolas Polanco after Polanco received an accidental head-butt and couldn’t continue. In his previous bout in September, 2022, Conceicao dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Shakur Stevenson for the vacant WBC and WBO Super Featherweight Belts.
The 28-year-old Navarrete won the WBO World Super Bantamweight title by beating Isaac Dogboe by unanimous decision in December, 2018 then stopped him in the 12th round in their rematch five months later. He then defended it four times with the fifth defence being called a no-contest after he stopped Uriel Lopez in the sixth round because there was no boxing commission present during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Navarette moved up in weight and captured the vacant WBO Featherweight Crown in 2020 with a unanimous decision over Ruben Villa and defended it by stopping Christopher Diaz in the 12th round before decisioning Joet Gonzalez and then stopping Eduardo Baez in six. He then won a title in a third weight division earlier this year with his TKO over Liam Wilson. The recent activity sees Navarrete enters the ring with an official mark of 38-1 with 31 Ko’s. He has plenty of power in his punches as 81.6 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage and his power doesn’t fade in the later rounds.He has gone the distance in three of his last six fights though.
Navarette stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 72-inch reach, turned pro back in 2012 when he was just 17 years old and has boxed 216 rounds since. His lone defeat came in his sixth pro bout when he came out on the wrong end of a four-round unanimous decision to Daniel Argueta. Navarrete also owns wins over the likes of Dennis Contreras, Luis Orozco and Glenn Porras earlier in his career. Even though Wilson dropped him in their February battle, he’s proven to have a pretty solid chin so far.
The 35-year-old Conceicao is best known for his defeat to Shakur Stevenson, his controversial unanimous-decision loss to Oscar Valdez in September, 2021 in a shot at the WBC Super Featherweight Crown and for winning a gold medal at the 2018 Olympics in his homeland of Brazil as a lightweight. He also competed at the 2012 Olympics in London, England where he was beaten by Josh Taylor in his first contest and fought at the 2008 games in Beijing, China where he was also beaten in his first fight.
In addition, Conceicao competed in several World Amateur Championships and dropped a close decision to Vasyl Lomachenko in 2011. He’s built a record of 17-2 as a pro since with 8 Ko’s and has average power as 47.1 per cent of his victories have been by stoppage. He’s also gone the distance in four of his last five fights. He stands just over 5-feet-10 inches tall with a 70-inch reach and has boxed 117 rounds since making his pro debut in 2016. He gives up two inches in reach to the champion but is 3.5-inches taller than him.
Conceicao’s only fights against top-notch competition as a pro were against Stevenson and Valdez and he fell short but arguably should have earned the decision against Valdez despite being docked a point in the ninth round for hitting the champion behind the head. The Brazilian’s biggest wins so far have been against the likes of Xavier Martinez, Luis Coria, Carlos Ruiz, Edgar Cantu, Joey Laviolette and Eduardo Pereira Dos Reis. He has a decent chin but was dropped in the second round by Coria in 2020 and was deducted two points for low blows.
Prediction…
Navarrete is an aggressive fighter with plenty of power. He’s a volume puncher who typically stops opponents with an accumulation of blows but has been on the canvas before. He struggles somewhat against superior boxers and Conceicao does own the better skills but Navarrete’s power usually pulls him through. Navarrete is riding a 33-fight winning streak and hasn’t lost in 11 years and is extremely fan friendly due to his style. It may go the distance but I’m expecting Navarrete’s volume punching to do the trick.
