The May 18th Top Rank show was as entertaining as it was shocking as the headlining fighters of the card, Emanuel Navarrete and Giovani Santillan, both suffered losses during their title fights; with Denys Berinchyk and Brian Norman Jr respectively contributing to the upsets that occurred on the night. The Top Rank card was held last Saturday at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.
Mexican super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KO’s) lost more than just the opportunity to win the vacant WBO lightweight title―that had been made available for his fight with Ukrainian contender Denys Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KO’s), but has also lost his WBO “super champion” status which he had used to challenge for the vacant 135 lbs title. The Ukrainian prevailed through a split-decision (SD) victory with scorecards of 115-113, 112-116 and 116-112.
While Navarrete still holds a WBO title at 130 lbs, his WBO “super champion” has been removed following his loss to Berinchyk. Subject to the WBO’s rules, a WBO “super champion” must come out victorious or risk losing their special designation if they lose in any contest; including non-title bouts.
Denys Berinchyk now stands as one of four champions in the lightweight division through the vacant WBO title he won on May 18th against Emanuel Navarrete, distinguishing himself amidst being regarded as an underdog against the widely more experienced Navarrete who has had several world title fights as opposed to Berinchyk [who had fought in zero world title fights until May 18th].
The match itself was competitive enough for Navarrete to not hang his head down too low, with his first foray into the 135 lbs division having nearly resulted in success. However, Navarrete’s efforts were simply not enough to grant him a victory.
Throughout the bout, while it seemed as if Navarrete had naturally transitioned to the 135 lbs division as he appeared to be the bigger fighter than his Ukrainian opponent, yet Berinchyk still appeared to have been underestimated by Navarrete’s team; encapsulated by the Ukrainian’s activity which had allowed him to outland Navarrete.
Both fighters exchanged plenty of times, with Berinchyk opting for a front foot approach―that would prove to be successful, while Navarrete adopted an approach more suited to the back foot. Despite Navarrete seemingly having the size advantage and the greater knockout (KO) ratio on paper, Berinchyk’s ability to push Navarrete continuously seemed to make all the difference in the end.
Following the customary 12 rounds, it was therefore no surprise for Denys Berinchyk to be announced the winner by SD, with his activity and approach having likely impressed the judges given he was arguably fighting a bigger fighter―even with Navarrete making his lightweight debut.
Overall, it was an impressive showing for Berinchyk who, up to that point, had not yet been considered a genuine contender in the division. However, being the Ukrainian is now a world champion, a new world has opened up for the combatant with his performance in his first-ever world title fight. A possible candidate for Berinchyk for his next fight might be Navarrete himself; though this is severely complicated as Navarrete is expected to face Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KO’s) who won the WBO interim title earlier this year.
As Navarrete may just be more suited to fighting at lightweight rather than super featherweight, there is a chance Navarrete might simply refuse to fight Valdez which would then culminate in his current WBO 130 lbs title being relinquished; thereby allowing Valdez to become promoted to full world champion. As of now, it is very much a matter of “wait and see” as it pertains to what Navarrete will decide in the upcoming weeks.
The co-main event of the Top Rank card proved to be just as eventful as the headlining bout as American WBO interim welterweight champion Giovani Santillan (32-1, 17 KO’s) went and faced a lesser-known countryman in Brian Norman Jr (26-0, 23 KO’s).
Both fighters stepped into the ring undefeated, but it was Santillan who would suffer a surprising loss to Norman Jr―with the manner in which he lost even more peculiar. The two Americans were heading for an extremely close bout that seemed to lean in Normans favor as Santillan suffered a cut in the 3rd round. Given both fighters fought in the pocket, Santillan was facing a disadvantage that seemed to predict a potential loss on the cards as the rounds went on.
This was best reflected by how Norman seemed to become only better as the match went on, bridging the gap in experience he held with Santillan who appeared to be deteriorating as each round went on. Norman adapted well despite his advantage, boxing from the outside when needed yet forcing the issue on the inside when it seemed he was not doing enough. While Santillan put up a hardy resistance by attempting to offset his rather leaky defense through his offense, Norman became more versatile as the match dragged on; successfully stifling Santillan’s attempts to turn the match in his favor.
In the 7th round, the bout went fully into Norman’s favor as Santillan suffered an injury to the nose that caused it to bleed, prior to which Norman had been dominating to the point where it looked as if he could actually stop or knock out Santillan.
However, it wouldn’t be until the 10th round that Norman Jr sealed a win after knocking down Santillan twice; with the second knockdown Santillan suffered convincing the referee the interim champion was no longer capable of competing as he stopped the match, allowing Norman to be ruled the winner by technical knockout (TKO).
Norman is now the WBO interim welterweight champion, a position that might get him promoted to full champion sooner or later with Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KO’s) expected to forfeit his 147 lbs titles before or after his August 3rd match against WBA 154 lbs champion Israil Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KO’s).
As far as upsets of the night went, the match between Santillan and Norman likely qualifies as the biggest upset of the card, with Norman establishing himself as a potential future world champion and a fighter with more ability than initially anticipated. Furthermore, Norman’s unbeaten record stands; and his victory over the previous undefeated Santillan has made him an unlikely elite competitor in the division―months after Santillan himself had attained that reputation after defeating Alexis Rocha (24-2, 16 KO’s) last year under similar circumstances as when Norman defeated him.
As has come to be expected of Top Rank’s cards American heavyweight prospect Richard Torrez Jr (10-0, 10 KO’s) made an appearance on the card in a bid to progress up the rankings, defeating countryman Brandon Moore (14-1, 8 KO’s) by knockout to maintain his 100% KO ratio.
