Denys Berinchyk W12 Emanuel Navarrete ... This was a historic boxing weekend for the Ukraine Republic. On the same day Oleksandr Usyk captured the undisputed world heavyweight championsip, Usyk's 2012 Olympic temmate, Denys Berinchyk defeated Mexico's Emanuel Navarrete by split decision to win the vacant WBO lightweight world title Pechanga Arena in San Diego. Berinchyk became a champion at the advanced age of 36. Berinchyk (listed as 19-0 with 9 KOs) prevailed by scores of 116-112 and 115-113, while Navarrete won on the third card, 116-112. Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) failed in his attempt to become a four-division champion.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Berinchyk defeated Anthony Yigit and future pro champion Jeff Horn but in the final he lost to Roniel Iglesias. Bernichyk's long road to a pro championship included going 3-2 in the World Series of Boxing and winning a bareknuckles fight in 2021,
Navarrete began by launching forward with wild shots, often leading with uppercuts or left hooks from the outside. Berinchyk responded by using his footwork to find his distance and pepper the Mexican with quick counterpunches.
Berinchyk's offense didn't hurt Navarrete, but they were enough to prevent him from implementing a sustained body attack in the early rounds.
Urged by his corner, Navarrete upped his offense in the last half of the fight, but the 36-year-old Olympian continued to make him miss before connecting with compact, effective punches. “This is great, my friend. This is great. Great boxing," Berinchyk said. "Great fight. Navarrete, muchas gracias.”
Navarrete said, “It was something new for me. Like I always said, it would be difficult. Denys is a great fighter. He made me struggle a lot. And you saw what happened. But I’m happy with how I fought. I know that I need to improve.
“I’m not sad. I know it was a test. I needed to do more, but I know that I can do more. So, I congratulate him on his win. I’m happy because I tried things out at 135 pounds, and I know I will be strong at this division.”
