Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed today that super featherweight champions Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez and Emanuel Navarrete are in negotiations for a unification fight in early 2026.
March 7 in Phoenix the Target Date
The Ring is reporting the Navarrete-Nunez unification will be on March 7th in Phoenix, Arizona. Charly Suarez has agreed to a step-aside deal to allow the unification fight to go ahead between the two 130-lb champions.
Hearn Calls It “One of Boxing’s Best Fights”
“Nunez-Navarrete isn’t done yet, but we’re in deep discussions with Top Rank. Everybody wants to make that fight. To me, one of the best fights in boxing, Nunez-Navarrete,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Carlos Linares about 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 fortunate still to 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 halted in round eight due to a cut over Navarrete’s left eye.
Navarrete’s Controversial No Contest
The referee, Edward Collantes, mistakenly ruled that a head clash caused it. It went to the scorecards, and Navarrete, 32, won an eight-round technical decision by the scores 78-75, 77-76, and 77-76.
The replays showed that the referee Collantes had bungled the call, as it was a punch from Suarez that caused the cut, which means he should have won the fight by an eight-round technical knockout. 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 be fighting 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 match-up for him due to his athleticism, fast-paced style, and fitness.
‘Sugar’ Nunez (29-1, 27 KOs) didn’t look impressive in his last fight, defeating the hard-punching Christopher Diaz-Velez (30-6, 19 KOs) by 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 turned in 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 was lighting him up the whole fight.
Navarrete has looked poor in his last three fights, losing to Denys Berinchyk by a 12-round split decision in a failed attempt to win the vacant WBO lightweight title on May 18, 2024.
Navarrete’s Form Shows Signs of Decline
Navarrete’s fight with Charly Suarez was more of the same. He looked soft around the middle against the 37-year-old Suarez and was beaten to the punch the entire fight.
At 32, Navarrete looks to be on the decline and not the same fighter he was three years ago in 2022. He should move up to lightweight because he’s too chunky for the 130-lb division. The problem is, Navarrete lacks 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, taking hard punches and being forced to hold frequently to keep from being beaten up by the veteran.