Emanuel "Vaquero" Navarrete is preparing in Tijuana for his scheduled return to the ring.

The world featherweight champion of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), Navarrete (32-1; 27 KO's), is getting ready to make the first defense of his title against Puerto Rico's Christopher "Pitufo" Diaz (26-2; 16 KO's).

The pride of San Juan Zitlaltepec has been working hard since the beginning of March, with a view on his ESPN televised commitment on April 24 in Orlando, Florida.

After capturing a world title at super bantamweight and making several defenses, Navarrete began to struggle with making weight and decided it was time to move up to 126-pounds - where he became a two-division champion.

Diaz is a seasoned fighter who has never been stopped inside the distance. In 2019, he lost a twelve round decision to former world champion Shakur Stevenson.

Navarrete expects Diaz to box him from a distance and use movement, but the tough Mexican is planning to use a lot of pressure to make it an exciting fight.

"It is going to be a very strong fight. We know that Diaz looking for his last shot at a world title and we know that he is going to come out strong. It's going to be a great fight,” said Navarrete to Marcos Romero.

“It has been said that he is going to try to frustrate me. But I don't think he will be able to keep that up for twelve rounds. He is going to end up choosing to fight, to exchange punches and that will benefit me completely. I'm an action fighter and I expect that from Diaz. If not, we are going to have to work to win the fight round by round and take the fight with a decision.

“Technically, I am trying to polish certain aspects [of my style] that I have not liked that much in my fights. And physical strength training is practically the same. I feel better [at 126-pounds]. I don't wear out as much and I work better. I've already developed a little more [in this weight class]."