HIGHLIGHTS! Emanuel Navarrete goes to draw with Robson Conceicao

Emanuel Navarrete retained his WBO junior lightweight title, but just barely, going to a majority draw over 12 rounds tonight against Robson Conceicao.

Two judges had the fight 113-113, with the third scoring it 114-112 Navarrete. The scoring was very fair in this case; Bad Left Hook’s two unofficial cards were 113-113 and 114-112 Conceicao, and the fight really could have edged either way, or been scored even.

Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KO) scored knockdowns in the fourth and sixth rounds, which ultimately saved his belt thanks to those 10-8 rounds.

Conceicao (17-2-1, 8 KO) started very well, fairly clearly winning the first three rounds, though this was no great surprise if you’ve seen both of these men fight before, even with Navarrete coming in as a heavy betting favorite.

But Navarrete never managed to fully take over the fight, either, with Conceicao hanging around and coming back nicely both times he got knocked down, never totally giving in to Navarrete’s power or relentlessness, and making it hard for Navarrete to put together serious combinations.

Navarrete showed great respect to his opponent, and said he would give him a rematch if possible.

“I’m happy to come away with the belt. I give a lot of credit to Robson Conceicao,” Navarrete said. “We both did what we said we were going to do. We came out here and gave the fans a wonderful fight, and he’s a tremendous fighter. His technique is next-level, and that’s what made it so hard.”

Asked if there would be a rematch, Navarrete told Bernardo Osuna, “If it’s up to me, I will definitely give Robson a rematch because he deserves it. It may not be up to me. And if I get another crack at fighting Robson, now I know how he fights, what his technique is like and what his strengths are.”

“I give ‘Vaquero’ Navarrete a lot of credit, he’s such a powerful fighter, but I know what I did tonight, and I know I deserved the victory,” Conceicao said. “I think we both deserve the rematch. He’s a wonderful fighter, I proved what I’m capable of, and I believe if we do get that rematch, we will both train harder, we will both give the fans an even better fight, because we’ve both proven what we’re capable of.