Emanuel Navarrete remains unbeaten: Technical decision win after headbutt – Charly Suarez demands rematch!
Emanuel Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) retained his WBO super featherweight world title with an eighth-round technical decision victory over Filipino challenger Charly Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.
The fight was stopped prematurely after Navarrete suffered a laceration over his left eye, which referee Edward Collantes deemed to be the result of an unintentional headbutt. The injury occurred in the sixth round. Despite the bleeding wound, the Mexican continued the exchange and fought an intense battle with Suarez in the seventh round. However, before the eighth round could begin, the ringside doctor decided that Navarrete was unfit to fight and the fight was stopped. The judges scored the fight 78-75 and twice 77-76 in favor of Navarrete.
“It’s that warrior spirit of a Mexican that helped us today,” said Navarrete in the post-fight interview. “I felt good, I felt strong, I felt complete. Unfortunately it happened with the headbutt and the fight ended like that. But during the fight I felt good. From the first moment of impact, I knew it was a headbutt. It ripped my eyebrow completely open and I knew immediately that it was a headbutt.”
Suarez also commented after the defeat: “I’m sad at the moment, but that’s part of the game. I know Navarrete won the fight, but that’s part of the game. I want a rematch. I want a rematch against Navarrete.”