Emanuel Navarrete successfully defended his WBO junior lightweight championship belt by defeating Charly Suarez via technical decision in the eighth round on Saturday night in San Diego. The victory took place at Pechanga Arena.
The bout concluded just one second into Round 8 when Navarrete sustained a cut above his left eye due to an accidental head-butt, rendering him unable to proceed. The judges` scorecards were then consulted, with Navarrete receiving the nod from all three, scoring it 76-75, 77-76, and 77-76.
Navarrete controlled the initial rounds with his characteristic high volume of punches, landing more shots than Suarez in four out of the first five rounds. Early in the fight, Navarrete landed a straight right that caused Suarez`s nose to bleed. The fight then developed into a competitive exchange, with Navarrete effectively using his combinations and signature uppercut, while Suarez attempted to close the distance to land his left.
However, an accidental clash of heads at the beginning of the sixth round resulted in a significant cut above Navarrete`s left eye. Although the cut initially appeared to be from a punch, Jack Reiss, a former referee and now a commissioner for the California State Athletic Commission, reviewed the footage and upheld the referee`s call of an accidental head-butt.
Speaking after the bout, Navarrete, who had difficulties making weight the previous day, stated, “I felt good. I felt strong. I felt complete.” He added, “Unfortunately, with the head-butt, obviously [the fight] ended that way. But while we were fighting, I felt good.”
For the remainder of the round, Navarrete appeared to have impaired vision from the injured left eye, as blood covered his face. Suarez capitalized on this, landing several right hands that Navarrete seemed unable to anticipate. Despite Navarrete`s corner managing the cut effectively, referee Edward Collantes stopped the fight before the start of Round 8 on the recommendation of the ringside doctor.
Navarrete confirmed, “From the first moment of the impact, I knew it was a head-butt. It split my eyebrow completely, and from the first moment I noticed it was a head-butt.”
With a professional record of 40-2-1 (32 KOs), Navarrete has claimed championship titles across three weight classes: junior featherweight, featherweight, and junior lightweight. He initially secured the 130-pound WBO title by stopping Liam Wilson in the ninth round in February 2023. After successfully defending this belt three times, he moved up to lightweight, where he suffered a split decision loss to Denys Berinchyk in a challenge for the WBO title. Navarrete then moved back down to junior lightweight, impressively knocking out Oscar Valdez in the sixth round in December. This December bout was a rematch of their August 2013 fight, which Navarrete won by unanimous decision.
Given Navarrete`s struggles with the weight limit for this fight, a return to the lightweight division for his next contest is a possibility.
Navarrete commented on his future plans, stating, “First, we`re going to recover the cut that we have in the eyebrow. We just need to adjust a few things, but obviously we`re going to first take things calmly, make a decision and see if we want to stay at 130 or try again at 135 pounds.”
Suarez, holding a professional record of 18-1 (10 KOs), previously represented the Philippines in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games before turning pro at the age of 30. This title opportunity marked the first of his professional career, earned by stopping Jorge Castaneda in three rounds last September.
In the evening`s co-feature bout, Raymond Muratalla improved his undefeated record to 23-0 (17 KOs) by defeating Russia`s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) to claim the vacant IBF interim lightweight title. The judges scored the fight widely for Muratalla: 118-110, 119-109, and 119-109.
Muratalla maintained a high pace throughout the fight, landing double-digit punches in 10 out of 12 rounds. He significantly outlanded Abdullaev in power punches, connecting with 82 compared to 36, including 25 to the body versus Abdullaev`s 10.
After securing the belt, Muratalla commented, “It feels great to finally have this [belt] around my waist.” He acknowledged his opponent, “[Abdullaev] was a tough fighter. He came to fight. We knew that. I was just using my skills, just picked him apart and beat him every round.”
Current IBF titleholder Vasiliy Lomachenko is recovering from a back injury and has until October to decide his future in boxing and whether he will retain the belt. As the mandatory challenger, Muratalla expressed his eagerness for the opportunity to face Lomachenko, stating it is currently his sole focus.
Regarding a potential clash with Lomachenko, Muratalla affirmed, “Absolutely. I`m the mandatory for him, so that`s what we`re looking forward to. It`ll be an honor to fight him to have his name in my résumé, and I`m looking forward to that.”