Denys Berinchyk scored the biggest victory of his pro career by outpointing Emanuel Navarrete. Photo by German Villasenor
SAN DIEGO – Denys Berinchyk fought very much like a fighter determined to win a world title belt.
Berinchyk defeated Emanuel Navarrete by split decision Saturday night before a pro-Navarrete crowd at Pechanga Arena. One judge scored the bout 116-112 Navarrete, while the other two judges scored the bout 116-112 and 115-113 for Berinchyk, who improved to 19-0, 9 knockouts.
With the win, Berinchyk won the vacant WBO lightweight title.
Navarrete, the WBO junior lightweight titleholder and rated No. 1 by The Ring at 130 pounds, was making his lightweight debut, but struggled to find a rhythm throughout the fight.
Early on in the fight, Navarrete connected with a jab or straight right, and would attempt to land a looping right cross to the head of Berinchyk. In spots, Berinchyk would switch from conventional to southpaw and back to conventional. The tactic would work at times, as Berinchyk did land a right hand to the head of Navarrete.
As the fight progressed, Navarrete began connecting with more frequency. Both fighters let their hands go in round four, creating spurts of exchanges between the two.
Emanuel Navarrete vs. Denys Berinchyk. Photo by German Villasenor
Navarrete was able to connect, at times, with his signature right uppercut to the head of Berinchyk, but Navarrete looked more sluggish and flat-footed, especially during the middle rounds and during the second half of the fight.
After Navarrete connected with a left-right combination to the head in round 10, Berinchyk was able to land a series of left hands to Navarrete’s head. Navarrete was the aggressor in round 11 but did not land a significant punch flush to the head of Berinchyk, who continued to fight success in spots.
Both fighters had their moments during the last 30 seconds of the fight, connecting until the final bell sounded to end the fight.
The 36-year-old Berinchyk, who resides in Kiev, Ukraine, had not fought since August 26, defeating former world title challenger Anthony Yigit by split decision. Berinchyk also has victories over Yvan Mendy, Isa Chaniev and Jose Sanchez.
Navarrete, who resides in San Juan Zitlaltepec, Mexico, falls to 38-2, 31 KOs. He fought to a majority decision draw against Robson Conceicao in his previous fight on November 16.
The 29-year-old Navarrete was attempting to make history. Had he won the WBO title belt, he would have won a world title belt in four different weight classes. Navarrete would have joined a list of prominent world titleholders who were born in Mexico to do so, including Canelo Alvarez, who is the current Ring Magazine and undisputed super middleweight champion, Jorge Arce, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Leo Santa Cruz.
No word if Navarrete will remain at lightweight or drop back down to 130 pounds.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]