Navarrete vs. Berinchyk Weigh-In!
(May 17th) Emanuel Navarrete vs Denys Berinchyk hit the scales ahead of tomorrow nights loaded card Top Rank on ESPN show live from Pechanga Arena, San Diego, California.
Official Weights
Emanuel Navarrete 135 vs. Denys Berinchyk 134.8
Giovani Santillan 146.4 vs. Brian Norman Jr 146.5
Richard Torrez Jr 229.9 vs. Brandon Moore 229.4
Emiliano Vargas 139.6 vs. Angel Varela 140
Jonny Mansour 134 vs. Anel Dudo 130.8
Alan Garcia 137.8 vs. Wilfredo Flores 136.9
Jonathan Lopez 127.1 vs. Edgar Ortega 127.6
Art Barrera Jr. 146 vs. Levy Josue Garcia Benitez 143.9
Navarrete will attempt to become a four-division world champion when he fights Denys Berinchyk for the vacant WBO lightweight world title.
Venue: Pechanga Arena, San Diego, California
Promoter: Bob Arum - Top Rank
Matchmaker: Brad Goodman
Media: ESPN, ESPN+
Promoted by Top Rank, tickets go on sale Friday, April 5 at 12 p.m. PT via AXS.com.
Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KOs) captured his first world title by upsetting Isaac Dogboe for the WBO junior featherweight crown in December 2018. After five defenses, he moved up to featherweight, where he handed Ruben Villa his first pro defeat to become a two-weight champion. The 29-year-old defended his belt three times before climbing up to junior lightweight to stop Liam Wilson in the ninth round to secure the WBO strap. Navarrete made two defenses in this third weight class, decisioning former two-division world champion Oscar Valdez in an all-Mexican showdown in August and dropping Brazilian Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceição twice en route to a majority draw in November.
Navarrete said, “Capturing a world title is a unique challenge, but the possibility of doing it four weight classes is a goal that fills me with motivation and gratitude. It will be an honor to join that select group of Mexican warriors who have made their mark in boxing history. And to be able to do it in front of fans in San Diego and from Tijuana will be an unforgettable experience. Feeling their support and energy in the ring will propel me to do my best and secure this victory for Mexico.”
Berinchyk (18-0, 9 KOs), a 2012 Olympic silver medalist on the same team as Vasiliy Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk, began his professional career in 2015. Berinchyk overcame stiff tests on his ascent up the lightweight ladder. In 2021, he vanquished Jose Sanchez via third-round TKO in March and decisioned Isa Chaniev across 12 rounds in December. After a one-year break, he defeated Yvan Mendy to win European honors. He followed up the Mendy win last August with a convincing decision over former world title challenger Anthony Yigit in Poland. The 35-year-old will have his first world title opportunity as he makes his U.S. debut.
In the 12 round welterweight co-feature,
San Diego-born welterweight contender Giovani “Gallo De Oro” Santillan the WBO No. 1-ranked fighter at 147 pounds will take on fellow unbeaten Brian Norman Jr.
“Brian Norman Jr. is a highly skilled young fighter,” Santillan said. “I get so much motivation from my city, and fighting at Pechanga Arena is always special. May 18 will be a great night, and I can’t wait to give my fans another victory.”
Norman said, “This is the big fight I have been waiting for. It’s time to show the world what I’m about.”
Santillan (32-0, 17 KOs), who turned pro in May 2012, has steadily ascended the welterweight rankings. In 2022, he stopped Jeovanis Barraza in the seventh round before making his second Pechanga Arena appearance by giving Julio Luna his first pro loss on the undercard of Navarrete’s featherweight title defense against Eduardo Baez. He returned in July 2023 to best Erick Bone via 10-round decision. In his last outing, he stunned the boxing world with a one-sided, six-round demolition of number one contender Alexis Rocha at Kia Forum in Los Angeles. Santillan is on the precipice of becoming the second San Diego-born world champion, following Paul Vaden, who captured the IBF junior middleweight world title in 1995.
“After my last win, I’m excited to keep the ball rolling. I showed everyone what I could do and earned the WBO No. 1 ranking. I am looking forward to continuing with those types of performances and showing why I deserve a title shot,” Santillan said. “I want to gain more fans in San Diego, grow the fan base in my hometown, and pave the way for other fighters from my city. There hasn’t been a San Diego-born champion in a long time, and I want to be the next one.”
Santillan (32-0, 17 KOs) upset Alexis Rocha last October to earn the WBO No. 1 ranking. He returns to Pechanga Arena, the site of two of his greatest triumphs. In October 2021, Santillan notched a 10-round decision over Angel Ruiz on the Navarrete-Joet Gonzalez undercard. The following August, he turned away the game Julio Luna on the Navarrete-Eduardo Baez bill. He hopes to make it three for three in front of the hometown fans.
Norman (25-0, 19 KOs), a former U.S. amateur star, is a six-year pro taking a sizable step up in class. He went 3-0 in 2023, capping off the year with a one-sided verdict over Quinton Randall on the Shakur Stevenson-Edwin De Los Santos card in Las Vegas. Norman made his 2024 debut in March, fighting to a no contest with Janelson Bocachica after Bocachica suffered a severe cut on his forehead.
Navarrete-Berinchyk & Santillan-Norman headline a loaded card featuring nine fights in total, including unbeaten heavyweights Richard Torrez Jr. (9-0, 9 KOs) and Brandon Moore (14-0, 8 KOs) clashing in an eight-rounder. Torrez, a U.S. Olympic silver medalist, is taking a big step up against former amateur standout Moore.
Heavyweight prospect Richard Torrez Jr., the U.S. Olympic silver medalist who has knocked out every man he’s faced, hopes to extend his streak of fallen foes. Torrez steps up against fellow unbeaten Brandon Moore on Saturday, May 18 at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
“Richard Torrez Jr. is one of the most explosive and powerful young heavyweights I’ve seen, and he’s in for a big test against Brandon Moore,” said Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum. “These are two unbeaten, skilled big men and a great addition to an already loaded card at Pechanga Arena San Diego.”
Torrez (9-0, 9 KOs), from the Central Valley town of Tulare, California, has been a whirlwind during his two-plus years as a pro. He has five first-round knockouts on his ledger, including a first-round TKO over Don Haynesworth last month in Glendale, Arizona. The high school valedictorian who can complete a Rubik’s cube in minutes hopes to solve his most difficult professional puzzle. Moore (14-0, 8 KOs), a 6-foot-6 boxer-puncher from Lakeland, Florida, signed with Top Rank last year. He has since won a pair of eight-round shutouts, turning away Robert Simms last November and overcoming a hard-charging Helaman Olguin in March.
In undercard action, streaming live and exclusively on ESPN+:
Lightweight phenom Emiliano Fernando Vargas (9-0, 7 KOs) will see action in a six-rounder, Alan “Kid Kansas” Garcia (12-0, 10 KOs) returns in an eight-rounder at lightweight, and Robert Garcia-trained junior welterweight Art Barrera Jr. (4-0, 4 KOs) looks to make it five straight in a four-rounder. Vargas, Garcia, and Barrera were all victorious on March 29 in Glendale, Arizona.
Bay Area lightweight prospect Charlie Sheehy (9-0, 5 KOs) takes on Manuel Jaimes (15-1-1, 11 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Sheehy is coming off February’s shutout decision over Abdel Sauceda, while James has won three in a row since the lone defeat of his career.
Junior lightweight prospect Jonathan Lopez (14-0, 10 KOs) looks to break the four-fight winning streak of Mexican veteran Edgar Ortega (14-2-2, 7 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Lopez, who is trained by Eddy Reynoso, went 5-0 in 2023 and defeated Eduardo Baez via 10-round decision last June.
San Diego-born lightweight Jonny Mansour will make his highly anticipated pro debut in a four-rounder. Mansour was a top amateur, winning a National Golden Gloves crown in 2023 and capturing a 2020 National Championships silver medal.
Saturday, May 18
Emanuel Navarrete vs. Denys Berinchyk, 12 rounds, Vacant WBO Lightweight World Title
Giovani Santillan vs. Brian Norman Jr., 12 Rounds, Vacant WBO Interim Welterweight World Title
ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT)
Richard Torrez Jr. vs. Brandon Moore, 8 rounds, heavyweight
Jonny Mansour vs. Anel Dudo, 4 rounds, lightweight
Emiliano Fernando Vargas vs. Angel Varela, 6 rounds, junior welterweight
Charlie Sheehy vs. Manuel Jaimes, 8 rounds, lightweight
Alan Garcia vs. Wilfredo Flores 8 rounds, junior welterweight
Jonathan Lopez vs. Edgar Ortega, 8 rounds, junior lightweight
Art Barrera Jr. vs. Levy Garcia Benitez, 4 rounds, junior welterweight
Navarrete vs. Berinchyk Final Presser!
(May 17th) Emanuel "Vaquero" Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KOs) is one step away from making history, but first, he needs to face an unbeaten Ukrainian Olympian.
This is what the fighters had to say.
Emanuel Navarrete
"Just having the opportunity to add a new title in a new division, it's something that I never thought of. It's something that I never dreamed of. It's something new and achieving it would fulfill a personal goal. It will enrich my personal achievements, and it will make me satisfied with what I've done in my career."
"Each fight is different. Each opponent is different. Denys is an Olympian. He has a lot of experience in boxing. That's the part we have to defeat. That's the hardest part on Saturday. However, we always work the same. We always strengthen certain things that have been seen as weak in previous fights. But we always put a lot of energy into each training camp. We always have that mentality to work at 100 percent, and this camp wasn't the exception. We worked hard, and Saturday will be a great fight night for all those watching at Pechanga Arena."
Denys Berinchyk
"I'm happy for Emanuel that he was the king in three divisions, but this is my division. You will see a great, exciting fight on Saturday night."
Giovani Santillan
"I've been looking forward to something like this happening ever since my first fight at Pechanga San Diego back in 2021. I've been saying that I want to bring world title fights for myself here in San Diego. Me being born and raised here, it's an honor for this to happen. I'm excited. I just found out this morning {that the fight would be for the WBO Interim title}. I'm ready."
"Business as usual, but I've had to earn my spot. It took me a lot of hard work, a lot of years to get here, and I'm planning on staying here and getting that world title Saturday night.
"{Returning home} means everything to me, especially after my last performance and now with being a world title fight, and for it to be here in my hometown so that my friends, family, and supporters have a chance to come see me live."
"He's a good fighter, and he knows everything that's on the line. So, I know that with him being undefeated, I'm expecting a war this Saturday. I'm expecting a big fight. This is going to be a great fight for the fans for sure."
"I've been training very hard for this. It has been a long camp. I knew about this date. I didn't know who exactly I was going to be fighting, but I've known about this date since back in February. So, I've been in camp since then sparring hard. I'm as ready as can be for this fight."
Brian Norman Jr.
"We're in his hometown. Everything is against me in this fight. But once again, this is where I shine the best. I thrive off of negativity. I love this opportunity. I love this moment. I'm 23 years old. He's pretty much 10 years older than me, so I'm supposed to be the baby in this situation, but best believe, we're coming to throw down."
"He's number one, plain and simple. You saw what he did to Alexis Rocha to earn his spot, so I have to earn mine. He did his thing. Time for me to do mine."
Richard Torrez Jr.
"Growing up, I used to be a tall guy. I stopped growing in my freshman year of high school. I was 6'2 then, so I had to learn and adjust to the heavyweight division. In the amateurs, I fought a lot of really tall guys, and I'm kind of excited to have a taller opponent again. It's pretty fun to be able to get inside, stay inside, and show what I can do."
"Inside the ring, I'm a different beast. I like to think that my conditioning, tenacity, and the hard effort I put in are going to be something there. What my coaches used to say back in the day is that I like to take my opponents to hell and back, and that's what I'm doing in this fight. So, I'm really excited to have a willing and able opponent. I know you. You want to go all out. You're not one of those guys who is going to sit in the ring, so I'm really excited to see how this fight plays out."
Brandon Moore
"It's about that time. A lot of people over here in San Diego don't know who I am. In {Lakeland}, Florida, I run the city over there. A lot of people are excited to see me be put on the big stage so I can put on a show for the people."
"No disrespect to Richard, but he's a southpaw that comes forward really, really hard. I think that I'll be able to handle that with my skill level. We're going to find out. He's undefeated. I'm undefeated. This is one of our biggest fights."
Emiliano Fernando Vargas
"We just went back to the drawing board. This is another opportunity to put on another showcase here in California, and I'm excited to do it. I haven't been back to California since my pro debut, and I'm excited. The fans are beautiful here. The tickets are selling like hotcakes, so I'm excited."
On his family dynamic
"It's something so special for me because this sport is so lonely. Boxing brings us close together. It's a beautiful sport, but at the same time, it can get ugly, and we know that. My father wouldn't be putting me in here, and I wouldn't be in this sport if I didn't know what I was getting myself into. In this sport, people lose their lives. I know that I have an opportunity to extend the legacy that my father left for me."
Alan Garcia
"Me being where I'm from, you don't see a lot of fighters make it, in general, out of Kansas. To be on the big stage and be under the greatest promotional company, Top Rank, and represent Kansas on my back means a lot to me. I continue representing Kansas. I go home after every fight and then I'm right back to camp. I just want to get better and better and show what people from Kansas are made of."
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