THE camp of Charly Suarez made a formal appeal before the California State Athletic Commission to overturn the outcome of his WBO title fight against reigning champion Emmanuel Navarrete.
READ: Navarrete retains after technical decision against Filipino challenger Suarez
The California body has set a June 2 hearing to discuss the merit of the appeal.
In his appeal letter, the 36-year-old Filipino asked the commission to either declare him the winner over Navarrete by TKO or declare the bout as no-contest.
This developed as Suarez and his team of trainer Delfin Boholst and coordinator Ricky Navalta are set to arrive in the Philippines from the US this Friday.
Controversial finish
Navarrete won the 12-round bout at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California by technical decision after the fight was waved by the referee owing to the huge cut the Mexican suffered just above his left eyebrow.
All three judges had Navarrete leading in their scorecards when the fight was stopped.
But controversy set in as to whether the gash was caused by a punch or the result of a headbutt.
Referee Edward Collantes ruled it as a clash of heads, while immediate videos available were inconclusive as to whether Suarez's strong left led to the cut prior to the headbutt, forcing the commission to go to the judges' scorecards.
But several slow-mo videos that came out after the bout suggested that the massive gash was the result of a legitimate punch, which became the Suarez camp's bone of contention for the appeal.
Had the referee called it a punch instead of a headbutt during the fight, Suarez would have been the winner by TKO since Navarrete had been declared unfit to continue fighting.
READ: Calls for Navarrete-Suarez rematch as fresh video bolsters no-contest plea
The WBO will await the verdict of the California commission before ordering a possible rematch for the junior lightweight championship.
The loss was the first for Suarez in his pro career (18-1, 10 KOs).
Navarrete, 30, meanwhile improved to 40-2-1 (32 KOs), as he defended his title for the fourth time, albeit in a controversial manner.
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