Navarrete Vs. Suarez – To Right the Wrong
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 13 May 2025
Many comments and opinions have been shared by several people regarding the WBO super featherweight title fight between defending champion Emanuel Navarrete of Mexico and challenger Charly Suarez of the Philippines last Saturday at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego. Some are politically correct, while others are outright demanding. However, until the California State Athletic Commission releases its new ruling on the controversy, everything said and written holds limited significance.
One thing, however, is crystal clear. The decision handed down was wrong!
The referee made a significant blunder, perhaps due to a lack of experience in officiating title bouts, or he simply missed the punch entirely and readily concluded the nasty cut was from a headbutt.
But what compounded the issue was the fact that those assigned to review the replays in these kinds of controversies did not perform due diligence in their work and readily concluded that the referee was correct. They could have requested more views from different angles from ESPN.
After ESPN released more footage, it vividly showed that the cut indeed was caused by a punch, and the decision to allow Navarrete to retain the belt was wrong!
Given the new evidence from ESPN, there are a few things that CSAC must now do to right this awful wrong.
In the opinion of this writer, the first thing CSAC must do is to reverse the decision and award Charly Suarez the victory he so richly deserved. Suarez must be declared the winner by TKO and, consequently, be given the WBO belt.
Secondly, referee Ed Collantes must never be assigned to a title fight again unless he completes a mandatory suspension and retraining. Then, he should start officiating 4-rounders until his skills allow him to move up to 6-rounders, 8-rounders, and 10-rounders before being assigned to another 12-round title fight. In short, he must earn his way back to the top.
Third, the CSAC staff that handled the replays for these kinds of controversies must also be suspended and undergo retraining. They were too quick in deciding and did not perform their job correctly.
Fourth, a rematch must be made with Navarrete as the challenger. However, if he can no longer easily make the 130-pound weight limit, then Suarez must defend the belt against the No. 1 contender.
Anything short of the above, particularly the part awarding Suarez the title, simply justifies what Chavit Singson, the manager of Suarez, has stated: “Charly was robbed!”
In addition, simply deciding that a rematch, as advocated by Carl Moretti of Top Rank, be held with Navarrete still holding the belt is totally unfair and will only add to the public’s perception that boxing is dirty and corrupt.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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