Emanuel Navarrete previously accepted terms for an all-Mexico showdown with Oscar Valdez.

Even after surviving his scariest moments on the title stage, the newly crowned WBO junior lightweight titlist is prepared to revisit those plans.  

“I need these big fights,” Navarrete said after his ninth-round knockout of Liam Wilson this past Friday at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. “I need to prove to everyone and myself what I’m capable of.”

Navarrete (37-1, 31KOs) proved his mettle in his latest win. The 28-year-old from San Juan Zitlaltepec, Mexico suffered the first knockdown of his career of more than ten years when a volley of punches by Australia’s Wilson (11-2, 7KOs) forced him to the canvas. Navarrete rallied back hard to floor Wilson in round nine and then surged ahead to stop Wilson on his feet to become the tenth three-division titlist from Mexico.

The night was originally planned for a vacant title fight versus Valdez (30-1, 22KOs), a two-time Olympian for Mexico and former two-division titlist who had to withdraw due to a prior back and rib injury that never fully healed. Valdez joined Navarrete in the ring in celebration and to declare his desire to put their planned fight back on the schedule.

There are those who believe Navarrete should view the scare endured versus Wilson as a wake-up call that he’s yet ready for the upper echelon in his third weight division. Not included among that group is the newest arrival to the junior lightweight title stage.

“I’m made of strength, power, heart and that Mexican spirit that never lets me down,” claimed Navarrete. “This was an amazing victory. It tested me. I needed to know that I could get off the canvas and come back to win the fight.

“Now I know that I’m capable of doing that and I was able to do it in great fashion.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox