Charly Suarez Appeals Title Fight Loss To Emanuel Navarrete

Forbes

12-05-2025

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 16: WBO junior lightweight champion Emanuel Navarrete waits for the ... More start of his title defense against Robson Conceicao on November 16, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by)
Emanuel Navarrete retained his WBO junior lightweight world title on Saturday night, but the result was not without controversy. The bout went to the scorecards at the start of the eighth round after referee Edward Collantes called the fight because of a nasty cut over Navarrete's left eye. Collantes ruled the cut was the result of an accidental headbutt, Suarez's team is arguing that a punch caused the cut. The California State Athletic Commission will rule on the decision in early June.
With ringside doctor Robert Ruelaz waving off the fight one second into the eighth round, replay official Jack Reiss scrambled to find a view of what caused the cut in the sixth round. Reiss could not find a definitive view of a punch opening the cut. Because the officials lacked conclusive evidence, the ruling in the ring of a headbutt stood as the official reason the fight ended. With that, since the fight had gone past the midway point, the scorecards were used to award Navarette the decision.
"From the first moment of the impact, I knew it was a head-butt," Navarrete said after the fight. "It split my eyebrow completely, and from the first moment I noticed it was a head-butt."
As for Suarez, he was sure the cut was caused by a punch.
"I hit him with the right straight," Suarez said. "I want Navarrete again."
According to BoxingScene, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) will be tasked with reviewing what caused the cut at a June 2 commission meeting.
In that story, Lance Pugmire wrote" In his appeal on Monday morning, Suarez asked the California commission to either award him the TKO victory or to label the bout a no-contest."
Pugmire added, that WBO president Gustavo Olivieri said he would wait for the CSAC's decision before moving to order a rematch.
After the fight, a better replay emerged which seemed to support Suarez's call for the result of the fight to be changed.
If the CSAC rules the fight a no contest, the win will be removed from Navarette's record, but not added to Suarez's. If the commission opts to change the ruling to a TKO win for Suarez, he will be awarded the WBO junior lightweight title.