Cowboy fans may have a reason to rejoice. No, we’re not talking about a new Hollywood Western release. It’s the return of the ‘Vaquero’! On May 18, Emanuel Navarrete suffered an upset defeat to Denys Berinchyk in San Diego. The fight happened just a day after Tyson Fury – Oleksandr Usyk. Fans might recall watching the newly crowned undisputed champion dance with joy as Berinchyk emerged as a new lightweight champion. Now, per available sources, six months after that fateful night, Navarrete could potentially mark a return.

The night of rematches may witness him face old foe Oscar Valdez. It’s been nearly a year since the two last met in Arizona. If that wasn’t enough, another thrilling matchup could be the icing on the cake. Nearly a year after they squared off when he became the world title holder for the first time, Rafael Espinoza might square off against Robeisy Ramirez on the same card.

The ‘Cowboy’ getting ready for action: Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez

Citing Salvador Rodriguez, talkSPORT‘s Michael Benson shared an update. “The Emanuel Navarrete vs Oscar Valdez rematch for the WBO super-featherweight world title and the Rafael Espinoza vs Robeisy Ramirez rematch for the WBO featherweight world title reportedly could both take place on the same card on Dec 7th in Arizona.”

It was on August 12, 2023, at Arizona’s Desert Diamon Arena, where, six months earlier, he secured the vacant WBO super featherweight title, that Emanuel Navarrete defended his third championship belt. After suffering his first career defeat to Shakur Stevenson, it was Oscar Valdez’s first attempt to regain a world title. Unfortunately, the ‘Cowboy’ outgunned him. But for an injury that inflicted Valdez, the two, in fact, could have met earlier. Nevertheless, the subsequent outings for Navarrete hadn’t been too encouraging either.

Fighting his third bout of the year on November 16, the Mexican champion met Robson Conceicao. Though he was lucky enough to retain his title, Navarrete barely managed a draw (majority decision) against the Olympic gold medalist, who is now a WBC super featherweight champion. Six months after the bout, failing in his attempt at a fourth world championship, ‘Vaquero’ suffered his second career loss.

Emanuel Navarrete still retains his WBO super featherweight title as a ‘super’ champion. On the other hand, Oscar Valdez’s recent triumph over Liam Wilson made him an interim champion, thus making him the mandatory challenger to the ‘Vaquero’.

‘The Train’ is slowly approaching.

It was on April 1 last year that Cuban Robeisy Ramirez grabbed his first championship belt. He defeated Ghanaian-British Isaac Dogboe in Oklahoma. Later on July 25, on the Naoya Inoue–Stephen Fulton card, he defeated Satoshi Shimizu during the first title defense. Six months later, he entered the ring for the third time to ward off ‘El Divino’s challenge.

Though he was the proverbial underdog, the heavy-hitting Mexican proved everyone wrong by staging one of last year’s biggest upsets. Despite going down to the canvas once, the unbeaten boxer rallied back to secure a majority decision victory. After his second career loss, Ramirez fought a ten-round battle with Brandon Benitez for the NABO featherweight title. Now he might have a chance to claim his legacy back.

Oscar Valdez seems to have gotten his act together. He defeated Liam Wilson on March 29 of this year at the same place where Emanuel Navarrete defeated him. For ‘Vaquero’, the fight is crucial; he cannot afford to lose another fight. It’s a must-win for him.

If the exciting fight card turns up on December 7, who will be your pick for the win in the Valdez-Navarrete and Ramirez-Espinoza fights?