Mexican junior lightweight champions Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez are anticipating a savory civil war when they square off February 28 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona on DAZN.

The title unification bout headliners are already guaranteeing a brutal barnburner.

"I've always been clamoring to unify my titles, and finally, my dream is coming true,” said Navarrete. “I want to tell everyone to expect a war between Mexicans, and that I'm willing to die fighting to defend what's mine. I have a lot of respect for Nunez, but this is my moment, and I’m twice as motivated … I promise you a war and a great show. I'm going to win this fight."

Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) has been an active champion since 2018, winning titles at 122, 126 and 130 pounds along the way. But his last four fights have been uneven, marked by a record of 1-1-1, with a no-contest.

Navarrete’s WBO title defense in May against Charly Suarez eventually resulted in a controversial NC. Navarrete originally scored a technical decision win that was later overturned after it was ruled that a punch caused a fight-ending cut near his eye, not a headbutt.

Prior to squaring off against Suarez, Navarrete knocked out Oscar Valdez in a rematch, looked sluggish in a 135-pound title fight and split decision loss to Denys Berinchyk and settled for a majority draw against Robson Conceicao despite dropping him twice.

Navarrete needs to be on his A-game against Suarez (29-1, 27 KOs), a relentless power-puncher who became the IBF 130-pound titleholder in May by beating Masanori Rikiishi. Suarez defended the title in September against Christopher Diaz-Velez, but his last two fights have reached the final bell after kicking off his career with 27 consecutive KOs.

“I'm very excited and eager to be in the ring with Navarrete,” said Nunez. “He's a fighter I've always admired, and it will be an honor to unify the titles. Above all, it will be a great fight for all the fans. Mexico vs. Mexico is a guaranteed war — and this one will be no exception.”