San Diego, California – Emanuel Navarrete’s (40-2-1, 32 KOs) return to the Pechanga Arena was dramatic and controversial. He fought a veteran whose experience, durability, and determination proved challenging. From the opening bell, Charly Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) jumped on Navarrete.
The round showed glimpses of what the fight would be, a back-and-forth war between two unrelenting fighters. Navarrete started strong, giving Suarez a bloody nose in the first round. His best rounds were the early rounds, and he then began showing signs of fatigue in the middle rounds. According to Suarez, he stated at the post-fight presser that he felt Navarrete’s punches were getting weaker as the fight progressed.
Navarrete struggled to make weight, requiring six attempts to reach the target weight of 130. His weight issues appear to have affected his conditioning. In the sixth round, the fight changed, with Navarrete suffering a nasty cut over his left eye. The referee ruled it a headbutt, but slow-motion replay shows a left punch thrown by Suarez that lands and is then followed by a slight clash of heads. The fight continued into the eighth round, when at the start of the round, the ring physician stopped the fight due to the cut. With it being ruled a headbutt, it went to the scorecards, for which the judges ruled in Navarrete’s favor. Earning him the technical decision victory.
Had the cut being ruled a punch, the fight would have ended in a technical knockout victory. Making Suarez the new WBO junior lightweight champion. The California State Athletic Commission is to review the incident. Carl Moretti posted on X that after reviewing the replay, a rematch is deserved. Suarez demonstrated an interest in having the rematch at the presser. Navarrete, however, did not clearly express a desire to do so. His difficulty in making weight could be the reason he is hesitant to give a definitive yes, as he may have potentially outgrown the division.
As it stands, in 7 rounds, Navarrete was able to land 32.5 percent of his power punches. He outlanded Suarez, 98 to 86 in total punches landed. Had the match not been stopped in the eighth round and continued, both fighters feel they could have won the match if it had gone the
distance. Suarez stated he was just warming up, while Navarrete felt Suarez had a lot of experience, but he could hurt him on the inside. Due to the controversial nature of how the match ended and because of how close it was overall, a rematch would seem imminent. The
question remains if Navarrete is able to fight at this weight again, or does he reattempt a jump to lightweight?
Last Updated on 05/11/2025
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