Emanuel Navarrete, one of boxing’s most reliable action fighters, and Joet Gonzalez have agreed to terms for an Oct. 16 featherweight title fight, multiple sources told ESPN.
Navarrete’s 126-pound title defense will headline Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+. A venue has not yet been finalized.
A 26-year-old Mexican, Navarrete rose to prominence with an upset victory over Isaac Dogboe in 2018 to win a 122-pound title. He defeated Dogboe again in the rematch and, after a few routine title defenses, relinquished his belt to compete at 126 pounds.
Navarrete (34-1, 29 KOs), a Los Angeles-based fighter, won the vacant featherweight title in October 2020 with a decision victory over Ruben Villa. He was successful in his first defense, a 12th-round TKO of Christopher Diaz in April.
Matched with a fellow pressure fighter in Gonzalez (24-1, 14 KOs), Navarrete figures to be part of another slugfest. The bout will also pit Top Rank against Golden Boy (Gonzalez’s promoter).
Gonzalez’s lone pro defeat came in October 2019, a unanimous-decision loss to Shakur Stevenson in a 126-pound title fight. He rebounded with a victory over Miguel Marriaga in September 2020.
Navarrete is rated No. 2 by ESPN at 126 pounds. Gonzalez, 27, is unranked.