Boxing

Boxing Weekend Recap: Emanuel Navarrete Retains, Erickson Lubin & Raymond Muratalla Earn Title Shot & More

It was an action-packed weekend that included some controversy in Emanuel Navarrate's title defense vs Charly Suarez.
Nathaniel Marrero|
Emanuel Navarrete
Emanuel Navarrete | Top Rank

There wasn't near the same level of star power as last weekend's cards, but it was another busy weekend of boxing on Saturday and Sunday.

The biggest fight of the weekend ended in controversial fashion, with Emanuel Navarrete defeating Charly Suarez by technical decision on Saturday at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Calif. The fight went to the scorecards after what was ruled to be an accidental headbutt, but a replay after the decision was already announced showed it was a punch that caused the nasty gash over Navarrete's left eye.

Fernando Martinez defeated Kazuto Ioka for a second time in Japan on Sunday to retain his WBO junior bantamweight title. Erickson Lubin, Anthony Cacache and Raymond Muratalla all moved one step closer to earning world title shots or earning a belt. Dainier Pero and other rising prospects also got wins on Jake Paul's Most Valuable Prospects card on Friday in Orlando, FL.

Here's a recap of the top fights from this past weekend.

Emanuel Navarrete def. Charly Suarez by technical decision (78-75, 77-76 x2)

Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) retained his WBO junior lightweight title with a technical decision victory over Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs), though, that result could soon change. The bout was halted due to a nasty gash that Navarrete suffered at the beginning of the sixth round. Referee Edward Collantes ruled it was from an accidental head butt, and ringside doctor Dr. Robert Ruelaz advised Collantes to stop the fight at the beginning of the 8th round.

BoxingScene's Lance Pugmire reported that the California State Athletic Commission could change the result to a no-contest after an angle showed the cut came from a punch. For more on the fight and what potentially lies ahead, click HERE.

Raymond Muratalla def. Zaur Abdullaev by unanimous decision (119-109 x2, 118-110)

Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) delivered a dominant performance against Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs), winning by unanimous decision to become the interim IBF lightweight champion. Muratalla outlanded Abdullaev 140 to 87 and 82 to 36 in power shots.

With the win, Muratallas is the mandatory opponent to IBF lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko. Should Lomachenko opt to retire, Muratalla could either be elevated to full champion or fight for the vacant title.

Regardless, the Fontana, Calif. native is well-positioned in a loaded lightweight division that has Keyshawn Davis and Gervonta Davis as world champions.

Erickson Lubin def. Ardreal Holmes by 11th-round TKO

Lubin is at the doorstep of his second world title shot.

The Orlando native got the stoppage victory in front of the home crowd in nearby Kissimmee, FL., defeating Ardreal Holmes by 11th-round TKO in a junior middleweight IBF title eliminator on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena. Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) kept on walking Holmes down as the fight progressed before he was finally able to corner him and land a barrage of punches that floored him. Holmes (17-1, 6 KOs) got up, but Lubin landed another big combination that forced referee Chris Young to stop the fight.

Lubin is now in line to face IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs). After the win, Lubin made his intentions known on a fight with the reigning champion.

"Bakhram, stop hiding," Lubin said after the win. "You got until May 18th. Let's sign a deal and get it done."

Anthony Cacache def. Leigh Wood by 9th-round TKO

Anthony Cacace's run through fighters from the UK continued with a 9th-round stoppage of Leigh Wood to retain his IBO junior lightweight title in Nottingham, England, at the Nottingham Arena.

Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) rocked and dropped Wood in the early stages of the 9th round. Cacace kept the pressure on Wood, landing several big shots, including a couple to the body. With Cacace giving chase after Wood (28-4, 17 KOs), Wood's trainer Ben Davidson decided to throw in the towel.

For more on the fight, click HERE.

Fernando Martinez def. Kazuto Ioka by unanimous decision (117-110, 115-112, 114-113)

For a second straight time, Martinez (18-0, 9 KOs) went into enemy territory to face Kazuto Ioka (31-4-1, 16 KOs) and emerged victorious, winning via unanimous decision to retain his WBA junior bantamweight title in Japan on Sunday. Martinez and Ioka previously faced off on July 7, with the former winning 120-108, 117-111 and 116-112 on the three judges' scorecards, though that didn't illustrate how close the first fight was.

Ioka dropped Martinez in the 10th round in another barnburner. Ultimately, Martinez did enough to negate that to win on all three judges' scorecards again, 10 months after their first clash.

Dainier Pero def. Cesar Navarro by unanimous decision (96-92 x3)

Pero withstood two knockdowns in the third round to earn a unanimous decision victory over Cesar Navarro in Orlando at the Caribe Royale.

A scorching start to the fight for Pero nearly got extinguished in the third round when Navarro connected with a huge right hand that sent the Cuban heavyweight crumbling to the canvas. Pero barely beat the count, and was sent back down to the canvas not long afterward by a barrage of punches from Navarro.

Pero (11-0, 8 KOs) managed to weather the storm, though, as Navarro was unable to recover after punching himself out in the third round. Pero got the best of Navarro (13-3, 11 KOs) in the remaining rounds, outlanding him 168 to 63 in the remaining rounds, per CompuBox.

Pero, 25, is ranked No. 14 by the WBA.

The undercard featured a pair of intriguing prospects getting stoppage victories. Corey Marksman lit up the home crowd with a dominant 7th-round stoppage of Tayden Beltran. Marksman (11-0, 8 KOs) landed at least 30 punches in three of the seven rounds, per CompuBox. Kaipo Gallegos (9-0-1, 7 KOs) also dazzled, as the 19-year-old prospect dominated Pedro Castaneda and forced his corner to stop the fight after the sixth round.

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Nathaniel Marrero
NATHANIEL MARRERO

Nathaniel Marrero is a writer for the Boxing, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Ravens On SI sites. He's also written for the Orlando Sentinel and MLB.com, and was a part of UCF's sports show, Hitting The Field. He attended UCF and graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 2023. Twitter/X: Nate_Marrero

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