Navarro Knows What to Expect

Jose Navarro can feel the pressure.

And he’s enjoying every second of it.

The perpetually up-and-coming super-flyweight is in new territory. He’s being asked to carry the Latino banner as well as the undercard for a show short on Latino star power, even if Saturday night’s main event is for the World Boxing Council’s heavyweight championship.

While the allure of Vitali Klitschko and Corrie Sanders fighting for a title left vacant by the retired Lennox Lewis may be enough to draw the Southland’s celebrities to Staples Center, the lifeblood of ticket sales for local boxing shows pumps through different veins.

“I thought it was crucial here in Los Angeles because the boxing fans, really the most supportive boxing fans, are Latinos,� said promoter Tom Loeffler, president of K2 Promotions. “And naturally, they’re going to support a Latino fighter.

“As soon as we closed the [title] fight, if we would have had one of the heavyweights as Latino, it wouldn’t have been as crucial, but again, we definitely wanted to have a Latino presence ... it wasn’t even a question.�

The question was whom to market in an effort to drum up ticket sales (they are priced from $50 to $350) in a community that has traditionally been a tough sell for any boxing show.

“You need a Hispanic fighter to really make an impact in the box office ... because heavyweights are not big sellers anyway,� said Ricardo Jimenez, a former sports editor for Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion who works as a publicist for Top Rank. “Most Hispanics don’t like to see heavyweight fights because they find them boring and usually don’t have a rooting interest on the outcome of those fights.�

The card took a major hit when former welterweight champion Vernon Forrest dropped out last week because of injuries. Forrest’s first bout at 154 pounds with Teddy Reid was to be the second fight broadcast by HBO.

As a way to tap into the Latino fan base, Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions offered up an International Boxing Federation 135-pound title match involving champion Javier Jauregui and Julio Diaz. But K2 was unable to afford the fight and HBO passed on paying for and televising it.

HBO will broadcast only the heavyweight title fight, as it did last summer when Lewis stopped Klitschko on cuts.

Jauregui and Diaz will fight in San Diego on May 13.

Navarro, the unbeaten 2000 Olympian from South-Central L.A. who will be making his Staples Center debut, was another less-than-viable option for television.

Instead, Navarro, who is 19-0 with seven knockouts and ranked No. 1 by the WBC for Masanori Tokuyama’s belt, is being asked to carry the undercard and sell tickets to a leery audience as he takes on Martin Armenta (10-5-3, 6) in a scheduled 10-rounder.

It’s a pretty daunting task for a finesse 115-pounder who has been booed on occasion at the Grand Olympic Auditorium.

“I’m not a [world] champion yet, but I think I’m a good fighter,� said Navarro, who is promoted by Lou DiBella, managed by De La Hoya and holds such fringe titles as the WBC Continental Americas, North American Boxing Organization and International Boxing Assn. World Continental Americas belts. “I could attract a crowd, a little bit. I have confidence in myself that I can put on a good show and if the Latino people do come ... they’ll be more than pleased.

“When Mexican fighters fight, it’s a big thing. I’m fighting a guy from Sinaloa and I’m practically from Michoacan -- my parents are from Michoacan -- so that could attract a lot of Latino fans. I’m hoping.�

After starting slowly, ticket sales have picked up and they were approaching 10,000 sold, Loeffler said. He hopes to surpass 12,000 in house.

For last year’s Lewis-Klitschko fight, attendance was announced at 15,939, though the actual number of tickets sold was 8,490 and 7,466 were sold at full price.

Having Navarro on the card “will help,� said Golden Boy spokesman Eric Gomez. “How much? That’s hard to say. But each time you have a big card in L.A., it’s always good if you have a good Latino, a Mexicano on the card.�

Demographics demand it.

“I mean, yeah, I want to attract a crowd and bring people here who want to watch the fight, that adds pressure ... but I get fans that like me and fans that don’t like me,� Navarro said. “I’ll get fans that want to see me lose and fans that want to see me win.

“As long as the crowd comes, that’s what will be good.�

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At Thursday’s weigh-in, a fully clothed Sanders tipped the scales at 235 pounds, and a shirtless Klitschko was at 245 pounds.

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Saturday Night at the Fights

Scheduled matches for Saturday’s event at Staples Center. The main event is scheduled for 7 p.m. (TV: HBO):

* Women’s junior-welterweight (six rounds): Sumya Anani (22-1-1, 10 KOs) vs. Lisa Holewyne (21-11-1, 5 KOs).

* Heavyweight (six rounds): Taras Bidenko (9-1, 6 KOs) vs. Agustin Corpus (10-13-3, 8 KOs).

* Super-welterweight (eight rounds): Ahmed Kaddour (16-0, 7 KOs) vs. Juan Carlos Garcia (6-2, 3 KOs).

* Super-welterweight (eight rounds): Carlos Bojorquez (21-4-6, 17 KOs) vs. Ronald Weaver (29-13, 22 KOs).

* Super-flyweight (10 rounds): Jose Navarro (19-0, 7 KOs) vs. Martin Armenta (10-5-3, 6 KOs).

* World Boxing Council heavyweight championship (12 rounds): Vitali Klitschko (33-2, 32 KOs) vs. Corrie Sanders (39-2, 29 KOs).