Navarrete vs. Diaz and Berlanga vs. Nicholson – weigh-in results

By Boxing News - 04/23/2021 - Comments

By Jim Strobridge: Emanuel Navarrete weighed successfully for his fight with Christopher Diaz, and super middleweight contender Edgar Berlanga made weight for his match against Demond Nicholson on Friday at the weigh-in.

(Photo credit: Mikey Williams -Top Rank via Getty Images)

The card will be taking place at the Silver Spurs Arena, Kissimmee, Florida. How to watch Navarrete vs. Diaz card – ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+. The start time for the card is 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m PT.

Navarrete (32-1, 27 KOs) will be defending his WBO featherweight belt for the first time against former super featherweight world title challenger #6 WBO Diaz in a 12 round fight. Diaz, 26, weighed in at 125.8 lbs, whereas Navarrete came in at the limit at 126.

Diaz (26-2, 16 KOs) lost three years ago to Masayuki Ito by a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision when he fought him for the vacant WBO super featherweight title.

At the time, it was a shock to see Diaz lose so decisively, but he’s sine also lost to Shakur Stevenson by an equally one-sided 10 round decision in 2019.

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Edgar Berlanga v. Demond Nicholson

#5 WBA, #8 WBO Berlanga (16-0, 16 KOs) weighed in at 168.4 lbs for his eight-round fight against Demond Nicholson (23-3-1, 20 KOs) in the co-feature bout. The 28-year-old Nicholson weighed in at 168.2 lbs.

Berlanga will be looking for his 17th consecutive first-round knockout victory. He’s within the grasp of the record of 21 straight first-round knockouts, but you have to worry if he’s still knocking everyone out in the first round after Saturday because it’s a signal that his promoters at Top Rank are bringing him along too slowly.

The speed with which the five-year pro Berlanga is knocking guys out has hurt his ability to show what he can do. Given the New Yorker Berlanga’s 100% knockout ratio, he hasn’t had the chance to show what he can do.

If Top Rank puts Berlanga in with someone a little too good, he may flop because he still hasn’t faced adversity nor has he worked on his stamina the way normal pros do by going from 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 round fights.

Image: Navarrete vs. Diaz and Berlanga vs. Nicholson - weigh-in results

We don’t know how Berlanga will handle the power, talent, and experience of Nicholson. It’s good that Berlanga will have the spotlight on him against Nicholson, but whatever mistakes he makes will be easily seen.

“My boxing ability, my foot movement, I’ve got a beautiful jab and people just haven’t seen that,” Berlanga said to Yahoo Sports. “I’ve got great, great, great defense. If I have the opportunity to present that side of me Saturday night, it’s going to be done.

“That’s what we’ve been practicing on for this camp, using angles and using my jab and using my feet.”

It would be good for Berlanga to be extended six rounds at least on Saturday because he’s going to be in for a shock once he faces someone with talent.

(ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT)

Weights for Saturday on ESPN:

  • Emanuel Navarrete 126 lbs vs.Christopher Diaz 125.8 lbs
  • Edgar Berlanga 168.4 lbs vs. Demond Nicholson 168.2 lbs
  • Josue Vargas 141.4 lbs vs. Willie Shaw 139.8 lbs
  • Joseph Adorno 135.2 lbs vs. Jamaine Ortiz 136.2
  • Orlando Gonzalez 127.6 lbs vs. Juan Antonio Lopez 128.4
  • Xander Zayas 146.4 lbs vs. Demarcus Layton 146.2
  • Jeremy Adorno 122 lbs vs. Ramiro Martinez 122.2
  • Jaycob Gomez 129 lbs vs. Mobley Villegas 129.4