Senchenko: "Navarrete Is Not a Top Fighter of This Division"

In an interview with Luckypunch.net, former WBA welterweight world champion (up to 66.67 kg) Viacheslav Senchenko shared his thoughts on the upcoming WBO lightweight title fight (up to 61.2 kg) between Denys Berinchyk (18-0, 9 KOs) and Emanuel Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KOs).

"Denys has a good chance of winning because I think that Navarrete is not a top fighter of this division, having moved up from a lower weight. Overall, I would rate the boxers' chances of winning as 50 to 50.

Denys's strengths are maintaining a high pace in the fight, being able to change the dynamics, working as the lead or on his feet as the secondary. His boxing skills are at a high level.

Navarrete is tall and has a long reach, against such you can work as the lead and press on them, or you can draw them out and work as the secondary. It's necessary to analyze his strengths and weaknesses, see at what distance he feels better or worse. Also, the fight plan will obviously depend on Denys's style, on his strengths. Mexican fighters work both at mid and close range, regardless of arm length. Here everything will depend on how Denys's team calculates the opponent and what plan they come up with for the fight.

Of course, it's better for Denys to win the fight early to leave no questions unanswered. But it's quite possible, if there's a noticeable advantage for Denys in the ring, they could give it to him on points. There's no need to be fixated on an early victory. He needs to box in his style and confidently defeat the opponent. This is a title fight, and I think the judges should be neutral towards both fighters, and a points victory could be very realistic," said Senchenko.

The fight between Denys Berinchyk and Emanuel Navarrete is set for May 18th in San Diego, USA.