Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete retained his WBO super featherweight title on Saturday at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, by defeating Charly Suarez by technical decision in the eighth round.
The fight was stopped at the sound of the second of the eighth round, because Navarrete could not continue after suffering a cut above his left eye as a result of an accidental clash of heads. The fight was decided by the judges’ scorecards, who gave the victory to Navarrete: 76-75, 77-76 and 77-76.
Navarrete dominated the early rounds with his usual attacking rhythm, outperforming Suarez in four of the first five rounds. In the first, Navarrete connected a right hand that caused bleeding in Suarez’s nose. From then on, the fight was intense, with Navarrete connecting combinations and his characteristic uppercut, while Suarez tried to close the distance to connect his left hand.
However, an accidental clash of heads at the start of the sixth round opened a large cut over Navarrete’s left eye. Although it appeared that the cut was the result of a punch, Jack Reiss, a former referee who now works as a commissioner at the California State Athletic Commission, reviewed the action and upheld the decision in the ring.
I felt good. I felt strong. I felt complete. Unfortunately, what happened with the headbutt, obviously [the fight] ended like that. But while we were fighting, I felt good.
Emanuel Navarrete
Navarrete appeared to have trouble seeing with his left eye for the rest of the round, with blood running all over his face. Suarez took advantage of the situation, connecting some right hands that Navarrete didn’t seem to see coming. Navarrete’s corner did a good job with the cut, but before the start of the eighth round, referee Edward Collantes stopped the action following the advice of the ringside doctor.
From the first moment of impact, I knew it was a headbutt. It split my eyebrow completely, and from the first moment I realized it was a headbutt.
Emanuel Navarrete
Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) has won titles at super bantamweight, featherweight, and super featherweight. He won the WBO 130-pound belt with a ninth-round technical knockout over Liam Wilson in February 2023. Navarrete made three title defenses before moving up to lightweight, where he lost by split decision to Denys Berinchyk in a bid for the WBO title. He returned to super featherweight and knocked out Oscar Valdez in the sixth round in December. This fight was a rematch of Navarrete’s unanimous decision victory over Valdez in August 2013.
Due to Navarrete’s issues with making weight, there is a possibility that he will return to the lightweight division in his next fight.
Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs), who represented the Philippines at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, turned professional at age 30. He earned this title opportunity, the first of his professional career, by stopping Jorge Castañeda in three rounds in September.First, we’re going to recover the cut we have on the eyebrow. We just need to adjust a few things, but obviously we’re going to take things slowly, make a decision and see if we want to stay at 130 or try again at 135 pounds.
Emanuel Navarrete
In the co-main event, Raymond Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) defeated Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) to win the IBF interim lightweight title by scores of 118-110, 119-109, and 119-109.
Muratalla was very active, connecting double-digit punches in 10 of the 12 rounds. He outlanded Abdullaev in power punches by 82 to 36, and 25 to 10 to the body.
It feels great to finally have this [belt] around my waist. [Abdullaev] was a tough fighter. He came to fight. We knew it. I was just using my skills, I disarmed him and beat him in every round.
Raymond Muratalla
Vasiliy Lomachenko, the IBF title holder, is recovering from a back injury and has until October to decide if he wants to continue boxing and keep the belt. Muratalla welcomed the challenge and said that it’s the only thing he’s focusing on now as the mandatory challenger.
Absolutely. I am the mandatory challenger for him, so that’s what we’re waiting for. It will be an honor to fight him to have his name on my resume, and I’m looking forward to it.
Raymond Muratalla
