Emanuel Navarrete-Francisco Horta in the works for December 7th in Mexico

Unable to secure a unification fight with fellow champions Daniel Roman or Rey Vargas, WBO super bantamweight titlist Emmanuel Navarrete is reportedly set to make his fourth defense on December 7th, taking on countryman Francisco Horta in Mexico.

There’s no set location yet, but ESPN Deportes says Puebla is a possibility.

“Vaquero” Navarrete (29-1, 25 KO) will be fighting for the fifth time in 12 months, having scored three knockouts since his breakout upset of Isaac Dogboe last December. He finished “Royal Storm” in their rematch last May, then followed it up with easy stoppages of Francisco De Vaca and Juan Miguel Elorde.

This will be his return to Mexico after four consecutive stateside appearances.

Horta (20-3-1, 10 KO) isn’t markedly better or worse than Navarrete’s last two opponents. He’s unbeaten in his last 13 and two of his losses came in his first four fights, but he’s yet to face a single noteworthy opponent. The question isn’t whether Navarrete will knock him out, it’s how long it will take.

He is actually taller than the notably large Navarrete by an inch, though, so there’s that.

Navarrete’s still just 24, so it’s not like he’s wasting precious time, but one would hope that he gets to fight a genuine contender sooner rather than later.