Emanuel Navarrete vs Francisco Horta official for Dec. 7

WBO super bantamweight titleholder Emanuel Navarrete will make his fourth title defense of the year on Dec. 7, facing Francisco Horta in Puebla, Mexico.

Navarrete (29-1, 25 KO) has been one of boxing’s breakout stars over the last year, upsetting Isaac Dogboe in Dec. 2018 to win the 122-pound belt, and making a series of dominant defenses this year. He destroyed Dogboe in a May rematch, then wiped out Francisco De Vaca and Juan Miguel Elorde on Aug. 17 and Sept. 14.

Horta (20-3-1, 10 KO) doesn’t seem to be any greater a challenge than De Vaca or Elorde were, being honest. The 26-year-old “Panchito” has won 10 straight, but he’s only competed in a fight scheduled for more than eight rounds on one occasion, a 10-round majority decision win over Denovan Salazar in 2015. He’s coming off of an eight-round majority decision win over Francisco Alarcon on Aug. 10, and Alarcon is a club fighter with an 8-4-2 record. He’s never faced a legitimate contender, and BoxRec currently have Horta ranked No. 47 in the world at super bantamweight.

Navarrete-Horta is expected to stream on ESPN+, and will be going head-to-head with Showtime’s Charlo-Hogan card for US viewers. The day will be ruled, however, by the Ruiz-Joshua 2 event in Saudi Arabia on DAZN, which will air in the afternoon in the US.