WBO featherweight champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (35-1, 29 KOs) makes the third defense of his world title against Mexican countryman Eduardo Baez (21-2-2, 7 KOs) in San Diego next Saturday (Aug. 20) at the Pechanga Arena (formerly San Diego Sports Arena).

Emanuel Navarrete: “He’s a warrior with an imposing, come-forward style. He is intelligent and has good technique. The fight will be difficult in the first six rounds until I figure him out. In the second half of the fight, we expect to be able to connect combinations to the body to weaken my opponent and achieve the victory.”

“This has been the best training camp of my career. We started camp in Mexico City, and we finished in Tijuana.”

“I’m ready to come back after a long layoff. Sometimes you start getting doubts when you spend so much time away from the ring. But as soon as training camp starts, the positive mentality returns.”