Emanuel Navarrete took his time with the overmatched Uriel Lopez before scoring a sixth-round TKO in a featherweight bout that headlined Top Rank’s ESPN card broadcast from the TV Azteca Studios in Mexico City on Saturday night.
The WBO junior featherweight champion exploited a significant mismatch after deciding to move up a weight class in his first action since the COVID-19 pandemic put the boxing world on hold.
There was a unique atmosphere in Mexico City that differed from the ESPN broadcasts in the United States. There was remote judging, camera operators wore full hazmat suits and a big screen showed boxing fans enjoying the fights from home. But it was work as usual for Navarrete, who was last seen scoring an 11th-round TKO of Leo Santisima on the Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 2 undercard on Feb. 22.
In what could only be described as a fight to keep him busy, Navarrete took a few rounds to figure out what Lopez had to offer before cranking up the offense in the fifth.
A hard body shot put Lopez (13-14-1) down in the round as Navarrete began to let his hands go. It was only a matter of time before another salvo overwhelmed and sank Lopez again in the sixth round. Lopez bravely got back to his feet but the referee had seen enough and halted the bout.
"I have the utmost respect for Uriel Lopez. He put forth a courageous effort, but I was coming to win by knockout," Navarrete said.
The only question now is whether Navarrete will return to junior featherweight and attempt to unify the titles, or make featherweight his new home.
"I want to unify titles, but if nobody accepts my challenge, I’ll move up to featherweight," he said.