By Ryan O'Hara
Wed, Sep 2 2026
Emanuel Navarrete, O’Shaquie Foster Set for Three-Belt Super Featherweight Unification Showdown in San Antonio
The 130-pound division is about to have a new king.
Emanuel Navarrete and O’Shaquie Foster have spent years carving out their places among boxing’s elite. On Oct. 24, they will finally settle the argument inside the ring.
The WBO and IBF champion Navarrete will meet WBC titleholder Foster in a three-belt super featherweight unification showdown at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, in what promises to be one of the division’s most consequential fights of the year.
Two champions. Three major titles. One opportunity to leave San Antonio as the undisputed face of 130 pounds.
The 10-round main event will headline a Top Rank card that also features a featherweight co-main event between unbeaten Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez and Fort Worth native Edward Vazquez, a former two-time world title challenger.
Super lightweight contender Frank Martin will also make his Top Rank debut in a 10-round bout against an opponent to be announced.
The card will stream live on DAZN beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 11, at 10 a.m. CT through Ticketmaster.
“This fight brings together the two best fighters at 130 pounds in a matchup fans have been waiting for,” Top Rank president Todd duBoef said. “The stakes don’t get any bigger, as the winner will be heralded as the division’s king and considered Fighter of the Year.”
For Navarrete, the fight represents another opportunity to add to an already remarkable championship résumé.
The 31-year-old Mexican enters with a 40-2-1 record and 33 knockouts, having spent nearly eight years competing at the highest level of the sport. His championship run began in December 2018, when he upset Isaac Dogboe to capture the WBO junior featherweight title.
Since then, Navarrete has collected world championships at 122, 126 and 130 pounds while establishing himself as one of the most relentless pressure fighters in boxing.
His attempt to win a fourth world title at lightweight ended in disappointment when Denys Berinchyk defeated him by split decision in May 2024. But after returning to 130 pounds and finally putting a nagging left-hand injury behind him, Navarrete looked rejuvenated.
He dropped Oscar Valdez three times before stopping him in the sixth round of their December 2024 rematch.
Then came Eduardo Nuñez.
Nuñez entered their February bout as the IBF champion riding a 19-fight winning streak. Navarrete methodically broke him down over 10 punishing rounds before the fight was stopped one second into the 11th, giving Navarrete another world title and setting the stage for Saturday’s showdown with Foster.
Now he wants the third belt.
“I’m coming for everything, and I’m coming with everything I’ve got,” Navarrete said. “I’m a Mexican warrior. I fear nothing and no one.”
Navarrete added that he was glad Foster accepted the challenge.
“I already have two—so why not three?” he said. “On October 24, you’re going to see a real Mexican warrior.”
Standing across from him will be a fighter who has taken a considerably different route to the top.
Foster, 32, is 25-3 with 12 knockouts and has experienced nearly every kind of adversity a professional boxer can face.
After turning pro in 2012, Foster suffered early setbacks before his career took a dramatic turn after beginning his partnership with trainer Bobby Benton in 2017. A sustained winning streak eventually earned him a shot at the vacant WBC super featherweight championship against Rey Vargas in February 2023.
Foster won that fight by decision and immediately established himself as one of the division’s most technically gifted fighters.
His first defense produced one of the most dramatic moments of his career. Fighting in Cancun in December 2023, Foster stopped Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez with just 22 seconds remaining in the 12th round.
He later signed with Top Rank and defeated Abraham Nova before losing his WBC title to Robson Conceição by controversial split decision in July 2024.
Foster reclaimed the belt four months later.
Since then, however, he has looked like a fighter operating at an entirely different level.
He dominated two-division world champion Stephen Fulton before returning to his native Houston in May and defeating former featherweight champion Raymond Ford by majority decision.
Now Foster gets the biggest fight of his career in front of a Texas crowd.
“This is the type of fight every fighter dreams about, and I’m ready for the challenge,” Foster said. “I know I say this every time, but this truly is the biggest fight of my career.”
The winner will walk away with three of the four major 130-pound titles—and, perhaps more importantly, the distinction of being the division’s clear No. 1.
There is plenty at stake elsewhere on the card, too.
Gonzalez enters the featherweight co-feature unbeaten at 18-0 with 11 knockouts. The Moreno Valley, California, native, who trains under renowned trainer Robert Garcia, has stopped all three of his opponents in 2026.
He stopped Franklin Gonzalez in February, Brandon Chambers in the first round in March and former world title challenger Aaron Alameda in July. The Alameda victory earned Gonzalez the vacant NABF featherweight title.
Vazquez, meanwhile, represents by far his most experienced test.
The Fort Worth native is 20-3 with six knockouts and has already challenged twice for world titles. He pushed former IBF junior lightweight champion Joe Cordina to a majority decision in 2023 and later moved down to featherweight to challenge WBO champion Rafael Espinoza in May 2025.
Espinoza stopped him in the seventh round, but Vazquez has since won three consecutive fights.
“I’m the first real test of his career,” Vazquez said of Gonzalez. “I’ve worked too hard and come too far to let this opportunity pass me by.”
Martin will also begin the next chapter of his career in San Antonio.
The Detroit native, now training under Buddy McGirt, owns a 19-1-1 record with 13 knockouts. Martin emerged as a serious contender with victories over Romero Duno and then-unbeaten Michel Rivera before outpointing 2016 Olympian Artem Harutyunyan in 2023.
He challenged Gervonta Davis the following year and has since moved up to 140 pounds, stopping former world champion Rances Barthelemy before fighting Nahir Albright to a 10-round draw in February.
Now he begins his run with Top Rank.
But everything ultimately comes back to the main event.
Navarrete brings the championship experience, relentless pressure and résumé of a three-division world champion.
Foster brings the precision, technical ability and confidence of a fighter who believes he has finally reached his prime.
By the end of the night, there will be no debate.
One fighter will leave San Antonio with three belts.
The other will leave knowing exactly where he stands.
At 130 pounds, the throne is waiting.
Emanuel Navarrete and O’Shaquie Foster have spent years carving out their places among boxing’s elite. On Oct. 24, they will finally settle the argument inside the ring.
The WBO and IBF champion Navarrete will meet WBC titleholder Foster in a three-belt super featherweight unification showdown at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, in what promises to be one of the division’s most consequential fights of the year.
Two champions. Three major titles. One opportunity to leave San Antonio as the undisputed face of 130 pounds.
The 10-round main event will headline a Top Rank card that also features a featherweight co-main event between unbeaten Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez and Fort Worth native Edward Vazquez, a former two-time world title challenger.
Super lightweight contender Frank Martin will also make his Top Rank debut in a 10-round bout against an opponent to be announced.
The card will stream live on DAZN beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 11, at 10 a.m. CT through Ticketmaster.
“This fight brings together the two best fighters at 130 pounds in a matchup fans have been waiting for,” Top Rank president Todd duBoef said. “The stakes don’t get any bigger, as the winner will be heralded as the division’s king and considered Fighter of the Year.”
For Navarrete, the fight represents another opportunity to add to an already remarkable championship résumé.
The 31-year-old Mexican enters with a 40-2-1 record and 33 knockouts, having spent nearly eight years competing at the highest level of the sport. His championship run began in December 2018, when he upset Isaac Dogboe to capture the WBO junior featherweight title.
Since then, Navarrete has collected world championships at 122, 126 and 130 pounds while establishing himself as one of the most relentless pressure fighters in boxing.
His attempt to win a fourth world title at lightweight ended in disappointment when Denys Berinchyk defeated him by split decision in May 2024. But after returning to 130 pounds and finally putting a nagging left-hand injury behind him, Navarrete looked rejuvenated.
He dropped Oscar Valdez three times before stopping him in the sixth round of their December 2024 rematch.
Then came Eduardo Nuñez.
Nuñez entered their February bout as the IBF champion riding a 19-fight winning streak. Navarrete methodically broke him down over 10 punishing rounds before the fight was stopped one second into the 11th, giving Navarrete another world title and setting the stage for Saturday’s showdown with Foster.
Now he wants the third belt.
“I’m coming for everything, and I’m coming with everything I’ve got,” Navarrete said. “I’m a Mexican warrior. I fear nothing and no one.”
Navarrete added that he was glad Foster accepted the challenge.
“I already have two—so why not three?” he said. “On October 24, you’re going to see a real Mexican warrior.”
Standing across from him will be a fighter who has taken a considerably different route to the top.
Foster, 32, is 25-3 with 12 knockouts and has experienced nearly every kind of adversity a professional boxer can face.
After turning pro in 2012, Foster suffered early setbacks before his career took a dramatic turn after beginning his partnership with trainer Bobby Benton in 2017. A sustained winning streak eventually earned him a shot at the vacant WBC super featherweight championship against Rey Vargas in February 2023.
Foster won that fight by decision and immediately established himself as one of the division’s most technically gifted fighters.
His first defense produced one of the most dramatic moments of his career. Fighting in Cancun in December 2023, Foster stopped Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez with just 22 seconds remaining in the 12th round.
He later signed with Top Rank and defeated Abraham Nova before losing his WBC title to Robson Conceição by controversial split decision in July 2024.
Foster reclaimed the belt four months later.
Since then, however, he has looked like a fighter operating at an entirely different level.
He dominated two-division world champion Stephen Fulton before returning to his native Houston in May and defeating former featherweight champion Raymond Ford by majority decision.
Now Foster gets the biggest fight of his career in front of a Texas crowd.
“This is the type of fight every fighter dreams about, and I’m ready for the challenge,” Foster said. “I know I say this every time, but this truly is the biggest fight of my career.”
The winner will walk away with three of the four major 130-pound titles—and, perhaps more importantly, the distinction of being the division’s clear No. 1.
There is plenty at stake elsewhere on the card, too.
Gonzalez enters the featherweight co-feature unbeaten at 18-0 with 11 knockouts. The Moreno Valley, California, native, who trains under renowned trainer Robert Garcia, has stopped all three of his opponents in 2026.
He stopped Franklin Gonzalez in February, Brandon Chambers in the first round in March and former world title challenger Aaron Alameda in July. The Alameda victory earned Gonzalez the vacant NABF featherweight title.
Vazquez, meanwhile, represents by far his most experienced test.
The Fort Worth native is 20-3 with six knockouts and has already challenged twice for world titles. He pushed former IBF junior lightweight champion Joe Cordina to a majority decision in 2023 and later moved down to featherweight to challenge WBO champion Rafael Espinoza in May 2025.
Espinoza stopped him in the seventh round, but Vazquez has since won three consecutive fights.
“I’m the first real test of his career,” Vazquez said of Gonzalez. “I’ve worked too hard and come too far to let this opportunity pass me by.”
Martin will also begin the next chapter of his career in San Antonio.
The Detroit native, now training under Buddy McGirt, owns a 19-1-1 record with 13 knockouts. Martin emerged as a serious contender with victories over Romero Duno and then-unbeaten Michel Rivera before outpointing 2016 Olympian Artem Harutyunyan in 2023.
He challenged Gervonta Davis the following year and has since moved up to 140 pounds, stopping former world champion Rances Barthelemy before fighting Nahir Albright to a 10-round draw in February.
Now he begins his run with Top Rank.
But everything ultimately comes back to the main event.
Navarrete brings the championship experience, relentless pressure and résumé of a three-division world champion.
Foster brings the precision, technical ability and confidence of a fighter who believes he has finally reached his prime.
By the end of the night, there will be no debate.
One fighter will leave San Antonio with three belts.
The other will leave knowing exactly where he stands.
At 130 pounds, the throne is waiting.