Emanuel Navarrete successfully defended his WBO featherweight title against Christopher Diaz. The champion showed his class with another dominating performance against ‘Pitufo’. So, what’s next for the two-weight world champion in the featherweight division?

Diaz and Navarrete fought for the Mexican’s WBO title as the main event of a stacked card. And after a fairly subdued start, the fight came alive in the fourth round. After 12 rounds of incredible boxing, Navarrete showed his class cemented his place as the champion.

The natural progression for the 33-1 boxer will be a unification fight against a fellow champion. And Navarrete has some big names to choose from with the likes of Leo Santa Cruz, Gary Russell Jr., and Xu Can. Therefore, no matter who he picks, it would be another fantastic fight.

The biggest of the lot will be Gary Russell Jr. since he is the WBC champion and also sits at #1 on the TBRB and Ring Magazine ratings. However, there could also be a chance that he will take on fellow Mexican Mauricio Lara, who is coming off an incredible upset victory over Josh Warrington.

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Should Emanuel Navarrete move up in weight?

The options show Navarrete could stay at featherweight and get another big fight. However, he has shown in the past that he will move up if needed. So will a move to super-featherweight make sense for ‘Vaquero’?

The Mexican’s physical attributes show that he would easily make weight and be competitive in the higher weight class. The possibility of facing big names like Shakur Stevenson and Oscar Valdez could persuade him to move up. Thus, in theory, it would make sense.

However, it would be too soon, given the possibilities in the featherweight division. If Navarrete can beat the other champions at 122 lbs, then a move up would make sense. Right now, a unification fight with Gary Russell Jr. will be an exciting prospect.

What did you make of Emanuel Navarrete’s performance against Christopher Diaz? Do you think he should chase a unification fight next or move up again?

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