Navarrete's Future in Question as He Resists Rematch with Charly Suarez
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 29 Aug 2025
Since his controversial title bout against top Filipino challenger Charly Suarez, little has been heard from Mexican WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete, except that he is not amenable to a rematch.
On May 10, 2025, Navarrete made the fourth defense of his WBO title against the undefeated Filipino challenger Suarez. The fight took place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego and aired live on ESPN.
The bout ended in controversy in the eighth round when Navarrete was unable to continue after suffering a cut over his left eyebrow. Referee Edward Collantes determined the cut was the result of an accidental clash of heads, leading him to call for the fight to be decided by the judges' scorecards. The decision went 78-75, 77-76, and 77-76 in favor of Navarrete, who was declared the winner by a technical unanimous decision.
However, new footage released after the fight showed that the cut may have been caused by a punch from Suarez in the sixth round. If the referee had ruled it as such, the fight would have resulted in a TKO victory for Suarez. Subsequently, Team Suarez appealed to the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), which on June 2, overturned Navarrete's technical decision win to a no-contest. This prompted the WBO to order a rematch, to which Navarrete was reportedly not agreeable.
Boxing experts and observers have noted that Navarrete's hesitation could be due to his increasing difficulties making the 130-pound super featherweight limit, which were evident in his last two bouts, including his second fight against former titlist Oscar Valdez.
In May 2024, Navarrete moved up to 135 pounds to fight Dennis Berinchyk for the vacant WBO lightweight title but lost a close split decision. The WBO lightweight crown became vacant again this June when new champion Keyshawn Davis was stripped of his title for missing weight by nearly five pounds in his supposed first defense against Edwin de Los Santos, which caused the bout to be canceled.
Navarrete could have waited for the WBO to name him again as a contender for the vacated crown, but the call never came. Instead, once-beaten British fighter Sam Noakes and undefeated American Abdullah Mason have been designated to fight for the vacant WBO lightweight title in Saudi Arabia this November.
Navarrete is therefore in a difficult position. If he remains at super featherweight, he must defend against Suarez again and face the difficulties of making the 130-pound limit, with the possibility of losing his title. If he moves up to 135 pounds, he would have to vacate his WBO super featherweight crown and vie with other rated contenders for an opportunity to challenge for a major title belt.
However, if he can postpone his move up until November without being stripped of his WBO super featherweight title, he could be in a better position to challenge the winner of the Noakes-Mason WBO lightweight title bout. But that's a big "if," especially if Suarez pushes for the immediate rematch as ordered by the WBO.
Photo: Charly Suarez (R) and Emanuel Navarette (L) were ordered by the WBO to a rematch of their world title fight in May this year which ended in a controversial no-contest.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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