Navarrete expects that he’ll have to chase Foster down to get him to engage but Foster promised that won’t be the case, which, if true, could produce a more combustible fight than some might expect.

They came face to face for the first time on Wednesday at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio at a Top Rank press conference to officially announce their 130-pound title-unification bout October 24 at Frost Bank Center on DAZN.

“I'm gonna control the fight,” Foster said. “I'm gonna dominate from round one. I [saw] an interview where he said something like, ‘I like to run and make fights difficult.’ Man, I ain't never ran from nobody. I put punishment and pain to my opponents as well. That night, he’s gonna get a boxing lesson. It ain't gonna be no running. It's gonna be a boxing lesson for sure.”

Navarrete (40-2-1, 33 KOs) enters the fight with the IBF and WBO belts, while Foster (25-3, 12 KOs) is the WBC titleholder. The Ring title will also be on the line, as Navarrete and Foster are ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.

Navarrete, 31, delivered one of the best performances of his career in his last outing when he stopped then-IBF titleholder Eduardo Nunez in the 11th round to become the unified champion on February 28 in Arizona. The relentless and awkward pressure fighter from Mexico credited his performance against Nunez (29-2, 27 KOs) to his preparation and not having to deal with any “instabilities.”

In Foster, Navarrete believes he faces a difficult challenge. The three-division world champion also said he’s more than willing to put himself in danger to produce an exciting fight. “It's very difficult to have a fight with just one person,” Navarrete said via translator. “It depends on two people. If he's coming to score points calmly, if he's trying to win two world titles by making it an easy fight, I don't know. It's about showing who's best. Here, there are more than just belts on the line, and I say that with respect. It's about who is the best, and I don't know if it's right to fight in that manner in this fight.

“If it's a fight where I'm gonna lose or get dropped, then, oh well. I'm gonna go in there trying to win, coming forward, taking all the punishment required as long as I am imposing my style in order to win. I do admit that it will be a difficult fight, but I'm going to make it difficult as well.”

Foster, 32, is also coming off one of the best performances of his career in a majority decision victory over Raymond Ford (18-2-1, 8 KOs) on May 30 in Houston. Foster’s victory over the former featherweight world champion was his third in a row.

Navarrete went as far as to say he’d be willing to stick his face in front of Foster’s if it means getting the slick boxer from Orange, Texas, to trade punches with him. Foster quipped that if Navarrete did that, he’d emphatically prove he’s the best 130-pounder in the world.

“It's gonna be an early night,” Foster said. “Anybody give me free shots, it's not gonna be a good night. Ray Ford was saying before the last fight [that] all I had was a jab, and then by the end of the fight, I almost stopped him. These guys get in there and talk like they’re just gonna do this and do that [but] when they get in front of me ... it's a whole nother thing.

“He’s gonna see that my punching power, my speed [and] my IQ is totally different. We ain't doing no running, so he can know that now. We don't do no running, but definitely he’s gonna be running into punches all night.”

Top Rank also announced that undefeated featherweight contender Albert Gonzalez (18-0, 11 KOs) will face two-time world title challenger Edward Vazquez (20-3, 6 KOs) in a 10-round co-main event. Former lightweight title challenger Frank Martin will be on the card in a 10-round junior welterweight bout, although his opponent hasn't been announced.