“Rematch to Come” Declares Top Rank’s Moretti After Injustice: Replay Shows Punch, Not Headbutt, Led to Emanuel Navarrete’s Cut in Disputed Decision Against Charly Suarez

Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti revealed after tonight’s fight that the reply was found after the commission had already ruled that WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete’s cut had been caused by a clash of heads with Charly Suarez. Moretti said, “Rematch to come.” Suarez getting a rematch now doesn’t change the fact that a blown call kept him from winning tonight. The judges scored it 78-75, 77-76, and 77-76.

(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)

Title Denied

He should have won by an eighth-round TKO, and he’d be the new WBO super featherweight champion. The difference in pay that Suarez would get going into the rematch as the champion rather than the challenger would be significant.

If the right call had been made for the cause of the cut, ruling it was from a punch, Suarez would have won the fight by an eighth-round TKO. The initial ruling of the headbutt causing the cut is what led to the controversial result with it going to the scorecards and Navarrete winning and eight round technical decision.

That’s good news for Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) because he lost the fight on Saturday night by an eighth-round technical decision due to the cut, causing the ringside doctor to stop the contest. It went to the scorecards, and the judges gave it to Navarrete. He didn’t appear to win, but they saw him as the winner.

Fans on social media are overwhelmingly calling it a robbery, saying that Suarez should have won by an eighth-round knockout. They question why the call wasn’t made on the cause of the cut, given that instant replay was used and video footage of every angle showed the punch landing on that side of Navarrete’s head where the cut occurred.

Navarrete’s Decline

Emanuel Navarrete looked badly deteriorated tonight from his prime years from 2018 to 2023. A combination of eating rich foods outside of the ring, punishment he’s endured in fights, and cutting weight is starting to take its toll on the 30-year-old. Although Navarrete is still young, his body is showing signs of premature physical decline. That happens to a lot of fighters.