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Mike Coppinger, ESPN
Emanuel Navarrete will defend the WBO junior lightweight title against Robson Conceicao on Nov. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, it was announced on Friday’s “Top Rank on ESPN” broadcast.
The fight, which will be Navarrete’s third of 2023, will serve as the chief-support bout to the Shakur Stevenson-Edwin De Los Santos lightweight title fight.
Navarrete (38-1, 31 KOs), 28, scored the biggest win of his career in August, taking a wide-points victory over former champion Oscar Valdez. A three-division champion, he also captured titles at 122 and 126 pounds and is ESPN’s No. 1 boxer at 130 pounds.
Conceicao (17-2, 8 KOs) will vie for a world title for a third time. The 34-year-old Brazilian was set to stay busy on Friday night underneath the ESPN main event between Luis Alberto Lopez and Joet Gonzalez.
But with the title fight presented to him earlier this week, Conceicao was a late scratch from his bout with Humberto Galindo.
“I had to three fight three times to become champion,” Conceicao told ESPN’s Mark Kriegel on Friday on the ESPN broadcast. “It’s my time.”
Conceicao’s two losses came in title fights, both under extenuating circumstances. The Olympic gold medalist dropped a disputed decision to Valdez in 2021 after Valdez tested positive for a banned substance.
Conceicao challenged Shakur Stevenson for a 130-pound title last year, but Stevenson missed weight before he soundly outpointed Conceicao.