Rafael Espinoza prefers undisputed pursuit over weight climb

COMMERCE, California – Whenever the offers and negotiations begin to emerge, Rafael Espinoza can formally decide his next career steps.

But if he could have his way and base it on the way he feels such comfort in fighting as the WBO featherweight titleholder now, Espinoza would prefer to strive for undisputed champion status in his division rather than seek riches in heavier weight classes.

Elevating into his stature as a world titleholder, Mexico’s 30-year-old Espinoza, 26-0 (22 KOs), repeated his 2023 victory over Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez in December by stopping him in the sixth round when Ramirez said he could no longer see out of an eye due to a fractured orbital bone.

The victory came just before Espinoza’s countryman, WBO junior lightweight titleholder Emanuel Navarrete, successfully defended his belt with an impressive knockout of former two-division titleholder Oscar Valdez, and it’s believed promoter Top Rank would like to stage a showdown between the two because Espinoza – at 6ft 1in – has room to grow.

Yet, in an interview with BoxingScene on Friday as he attended a title defense by his gym mate Mizuki Hiruta, Espinoza said he is content focusing on the idea that “I’m trying to get better and improve with every fight.”

Of Navarrete possibly being his next foe, he said he’s aiming toward an April return bout and that Navarrete, for now, is “not what I want.

“I want to defend my titles and unify. Whoever’s a [featherweight] champion now – any of them – that’s who I want,” Espinoza said. “I know I’m the best of them all. I’m confident I can beat any of these champions. I want all of the titles.”

While Navarrete will offer a quality purse, Espinoza believes his earnings will be just fine in his pursuit of current featherweight belt holders Brandon Figueroa (WBC), Angelo Leo (IBF) and Nick Ball (WBA).

“I know, but I can make the same, good money here and I can keep making the weight,” he said.

He’s intrigued by the Ball fight because of the height disparity.

“That would be a historic fight,” Espinoza said. “Because I’m the tallest champion ever in the division and Nick Ball is the shortest champion of all time. A lot of people would love to see that fight.”

Espinoza, of course, is also keeping his eyes on the boxing landscape, knowing that if he can work to clean out the division this year that undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue should be ready for a move to featherweight by early 2026.

“I would love that fight,” he said.

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.