Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed today that super featherweight champions Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez and Emanuel Navarrete are in negotiations for a unification bout in early 2026.
March 7 in Phoenix the target date
The Ring reports that the Navarrete-Nunez union will take place on March 7 in Phoenix, Arizona. Charly Suarez has agreed to a side deal to allow the unification fight between the two 130-lb champions to go ahead.
Hearn calls it “One of boxing’s best fights”
“Nunez-Navarrete is not done yet, but we are in deep talks with Top Rank. Everybody wants to make that fight. To me, one of the best fights in boxing is Nunez-Navarrete,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. Carlos Linares on negotiations for a unification fight between super featherweight champions Eduardo Nunez and Emanuel Navarrete for the first quarter of 2026.
Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 Kos) is happy to still hold his WBO title after his fight with Suarez. Earlier this year, Navarrete defended against Suarez on May 10, 2025 in San Diego, California. The fight was stopped in round eight due to a cut over Navarrete’s left eye.
Navarrete’s controversial no contest
The referee, Edward Collantes, wrongly ruled that a head collision had caused it. It went to the scorecards, and Navarrete, 32, won an eight-round technical decision by scores of 78-75, 77-76 and 77-76.
The replays showed that referee Collantes overturned the call as it was a punch from Suarez that caused the cut, meaning he should have won the fight by an eight-round TKO. California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) changed the results to an eighth round no contest on June 2, 2025. The WBO then ordered a rematch between Navarrete and Sugarez.
Instead of going that route, Navarrete will fight Nunez, which is a good move for him. If Navarrete defeats Nunez, he can vacate the WBO title to avoid Suarez, who is a bad style matchup for him due to his athleticism, fast style and fitness.
‘Sugar’ Nunez (29-1, 27 KOs) looked unimpressive in his last fight, defeating hard-hitting Christopher Diaz-Velez (30-6, 19 KOs) via a 12-round unanimous decision on September 6, 2025, at the Centro de Usos Multiples, Los Mochis, Mexico. The scores were 117-109, 117-109 and 116-110. The fight was much closer than the wide scores submitted by the three judges.
Interestingly, Diaz was the harder puncher of the two. Going into the fight, Nunez was supposed to be the more powerful of the two, but surprisingly, it was Diaz who torched him throughout the fight.
Navarrete has looked poor in his last three fights, losing to Denys Berinchyk via a 12-round split decision in a failed bid to win the vacant WBO lightweight title on May 18, 2024.
Navarrete’s form is showing signs of decline
Navarrete’s fight with Charly Suarez was more of the same. He looked soft in the middle against the 37-year-old Suarez and was punched throughout the fight.
At 32, Navarrete appears to be on the decline and not the same fighter he was three years ago in 2022. He needs to move up to lightweight because he is too fat for the 130-lb division. The problem is that Navarrete doesn’t have the youth and fitness to dominate against fighters his own size if he were to fight at 135.
Nunez looked just as bad against Diaz, landing hard punches and being forced to hold frequently to avoid being hit by the veteran.
