FIGHTER BY NECESSITY, CHAMPION BY DESIRE
Dogboe fight had just been a bad night for him, and that I still hadn’t truly shown I was a champion. Ring: In my opinion, [Top Rank CEO] Bob Arum fell in love with you in that second Dogboe fight. You became the company’s lifesaver because you kept saving cards and bringing people in. EN: It was something like five fights in 11 months. [Editor’s note: Navarrete made five title defenses in a little over nine months.] It was crazy. That’s when I became fully absorbed by the job – one fight after another, all the time. Yes, the money went up, but not to the point people imagine. That’s why when I hear young fighters complain about purses now, I tell them: “I fought for a fraction of that, and I did it gladly.” Ring: Let’s talk about your 122-pound title reign: Dogboe I and II, Francisco de Vaca, Juan Miguel Elorde, Francisco Horta, Joe Santisima on the Fury-Wilder II card. Of all your fights at 122, which one stands out the most? EN: The first Dogboe fight, because of everything it represented. That fight was an emotional roller coaster. It taught me a lot. I think that was the moment I truly matured. You spend your whole life in boxing working toward a world title, imagining what it will mean, and then one day the opportunity comes – and not only does it come, but you win. That was the greatest moment of my boxing life because of what it represented. Ring: At 126 pounds, what was your most important fight? EN: That’s hard, but I’d say the fight with “Pitufo” [Christopher Diaz], because I felt like they were taking me [to Diaz’s native Florida] to lose the title. You’re going into someone else’s territory. Most of my big fights have been in the United States. That’s where I built my following. In cities like San
challenged myself. I told myself: You’ve already fought him. You beat him. You know who he is. You know he’s dangerous, but you also know what you can do with him. That gave me strength. I came back out of that internal battle with clarity and told my team: This is what we’re going to do. This is how we’re going to prepare. These are the things we’re going to change. And we had a much better preparation than we did before Berinchyk. There was a different hunger, a different fire. I still have goals. I still have things I want to accomplish. And if I want to win, I have to be at 100%. Ring: So you knocked out Valdez in the rematch, and you picked up another world title in your last fight against Eduardo Nunez. Do you feel fulfilled? EN: Yes. I do. At this point, I have more to be grateful for than to ask for. Because every man I’ve fought has been dangerous. People can say whatever they want, but I know what I’ve been in there with. And there’s something very powerful about mutual respect between fighters – that recognition that comes afterward, when another fighter acknowledges who you are and what you bring. I’ve shared the ring with men like Pitufo and Oscar Valdez, men who later showed that respect. Those moments stay with me. That’s what I’ll one day tell my children and grandchildren – that I fought real fighters, real beasts, dangerous men. Those are the things I keep inside me. I don’t go around talking about them much. I’m a reserved person. My circle is small. I’m close to my family. And when I’m with friends, maybe we have a beer or a meal, but we’re not sitting around talking boxing all night. So yes, I feel fulfilled. Very much so.
Navarrete made the final defense of his featherweight title by knocking out Eduardo Baez, then won the WBO junior lightweight belt in his next fight.
EN: After that fight, I went to Guadalajara to prepare, and after about 15 days, I got to the point where I couldn’t even close my hand properly. I couldn’t make a fist. Pedro told me we needed to cancel. I told him no. I said I had commitments, I [was depending on the Berinchyk fight], and I wasn’t going to pull out. That’s just who I am. I would rather go in there and deal with the consequences than cancel. The only thing I asked for was support in securing a direct rematch [vs. Berinchyk]. My thinking was simple: We take the fight, then I get surgery, then I come back better. And once it was over, I made peace with it. I told myself I was still a champion at 130, that I would recover, that I would work harder, and that
Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas, the fans have shown me incredible love. But still, with Pitufo, because of the danger he represented and everything around it, that fight stands out to me. Ring: What happened when you were trying to win a title in a fourth division, against Denys Berinchyk for the vacant WBO lightweight title? Was it motivation? Injuries? EN: Motivation was not the problem. I was focused in training. I was committed. The problem was that physically I think I fooled myself. I believed I was doing well in camp, but I wasn’t where I needed to be. I was coming off surgery, and there’s no exact measure that tells you whether you’re at
80% or 100%. Pedro told me I looked strong, that I was punching well, that things were going in the right direction, and I believed it too. But in truth, I wasn’t there. That night, I felt very restricted. I didn’t throw the volume of punches I normally throw. It was a physical limitation more than anything else, and it came from everything surrounding that period, including what followed the Robson Conceicao fight [which preceded Berinchyk]. Ring: You took your first pro loss by split decision against Berinchyk, and just before that was Conceicao, which ended in a draw. What happened after the Conceicao fight?
nothing was finished. Over time the team understood where I was coming from, and now it feels like the rematch with Valdez may be what’s coming next. Ring: Speaking of Oscar Valdez, you surprisingly outclassed him over 12 rounds in your first fight. Define him for me. EN: After a setback, I tend to disappear for a little while. I go inward. I rest. I think. I repair myself. That’s always been my way. When there’s a problem, I go into my own cave. I talk to myself, I reflect, I meditate, and then I make a decision. And once I make that decision, it’s hard for anyone to move me from it. So when it came to Valdez, I
54 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
RINGMAGAZINE.COM 55
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker