A bloodied Emmanuel Navarrete retained his WBO junior lightweight title with a technical decision against Filipino challenger Charly Suarez Sunday at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.
The action-packed 12-round bout was stopped at the start of Round 8, as the Mexican champion was declared unfit to fight by ring doctors owing to a massive cut he suffered above his left eyebrow in the sixth round.
The scorecards read 78-75, 77-76, 77-76, all in favor of Navarrete.
Questions as to the finish
But contoversy arose as to whether the cut was caused by a punch or an accidental headbutt as called by referee Edward Collantes.
A slow-mo replay showed Suarez connecting a left punch just before the supposed clash of heads.
But the California State Athletic Commission insisted the video was inconclusive, sustaining the call of the referee that the cut was caused by a head butt.
Had it been deemed as a punch, Suarez would have been declared the winner by TKO after the fight.
“I am sad but that’s part of the game,” said the 36-year-old Suarez, who suffered his first loss as a pro (18-1, 10 KOs).
Shortly after the bout, ESPN came out with a clear sequence showing Suarez connected on a nasty left against Navarrete prior to their clash of heads.
The Mexican champion claimed otherwise.
“From the first moment of the impact, I knew it was a headbutt,” said Navarrete. “It split my eyebrow completely and from the first moment, I noticed it was headbutt.”
The Mexican improved to 40-2-1 with 32 KOs as he retained his WBO title belt for the fourth time.
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