Boxing

Emanuel Navarrete vs Charly Suarez Result Likely To Change

Emanuel Navarrete's technical decision win over Charly Suarez is unlikely to stand.
Nathaniel Marrero|
Emanuel Navarrete (left) vs Charly Suarez (right).
Emanuel Navarrete (left) vs Charly Suarez (right). | Top Rank

Emanuel Navarrete's controversial technical decision victory over Charly Suarez is expected to be overturned to a no-contest by the California State Athletic Commission, BoxingScene's Lance Pugmire reports.

Navarrete won the bout via technical decision after eight rounds due to a cut that referee Edward Collantes ruled was from an accidental headbutt. Judges Fernando Villareal and Lou Moret scored it 77-76 and Pat Russell had it 78-75. With the win, Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) retained his WBO junior lightweight title and became the first man to defeat Suarez (18-0, 10 KOs) as things presently stand.

The CSAC used replay to review Collantes' call, but with the angles they had available to them at the time, there was no undisputed angle that could lead them to overturn the cause of the cut to a punch. Later, after the decision had already been rendered, ESPN had an angle that showed the cut Navarrete suffered was indeed from a left hand by Suarez at the beginning of the sixth round. Had the call been overturned, Suarez would have won by 8th-round technical knockout.

Ringside doctor Dr. Robert Ruelaz looked at Navarrete's cut after he first suffered it, at the beginning of the 7th round and the start of the 8th round, and with the WBO junior lightweight champion's cut still bleeding, he recommended that Collantes call a halt to the bout.

Should the CSAC change the result to a no-contest, that'll likely lead to the WBO enforcing a rematch between Navarrete and Suarez. Top Rank Vice President of Boxing Operations Carl Moretti said on X that Suarez will get a rematch vs Navarrete.

Navarrete vs Suarez was all-action from the opening bell as the two traded big shots throughout the fight. CompuBox illustrated how close the fight was, as Navarrete landed 98 of 366 punches, including 82 power punches, compared to 86 of 412 punches for Suarez, with 75 being power shots.

With Moret and Villareal having it a one-point fight heading into the 8th round, Navarrete's title hung in the balance vs Suarez heading into the final five rounds. Should a rematch come to fruition, hopefully, they can pick up where they left off with the fight coming to a much more conclusive ending.

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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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