DUE to a purported head butt by Filipino challenger Charly Suarez late in the seventh round that caused a nasty bleeding gash above the right eye of Emanuel Navarete, the Mexican retained his World Boxing Organization junior lightweight title by a controversial unanimous technical decision at the Pechenga Arena in San Diego, California yesterday (Saturday night in the US).
The match did not resume after the ringside physician, Dr. Robert Ruelaz, ruled that Navarrete could no longer continue because of the cut. American referee Edward Collantes had decided that it was the result of the head butt with a second left in the seventh round.
The match went to the scorecards, with referees Lou Moret and Fernando Villareal seeing it 76-77 and Pat Russel 78-75, all in favor of the wounded Mexican.
A replay, however, showed the cut was caused by Suarez’s right straight, followed by a sharp left hook to the top of the right eyebrow, which would have awarded the title to the veteran Pinoy prizefighter by technical knockout, based on pro boxing rules.
Instead, Suarez, 36, who deemed his title bid as a now-or-never encounter, absorbed his first loss in 19 fights, 10 of his wins coming by knockout, while Navarete, who had struggled to meet the 130-pound limit during the official weigh-in, picked up his 40th win (32 KOs) against two losses and one draw.
“I knew it was a headbutt. It split my eyebrow completely,” Navarrete said through an interpreter during the post-match interview, although the video replay proved otherwise.
“I hit him, I want a rematch,” said the glum-looking Suarez, whose bid was bankrolled by sportsman-businessman and former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson.
Suarez had gone all out from the get-go, only to see the title slip from his grasp because of the controversial call by ring officials.
“Clear punch. Maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw dito sa Pilipinas. Charly was robbed of a victory and boxing fans, even non-Filipinos, know that. We will file an appeal. Charly deserves the win and the world title,” Singson said in a statement after the fight.
“I can only feel for Charly who gave his all,” said former world welterweight champion Tim Bradley, one of the ESPN sportscasters of the fight, in sympathy for the challenger’s plight after seeing the video replay of the critical moment.
The 30-year-old Mexican “Vaquero” acknowledged that he had been given one heck of a battle by the upset-conscious Filipino, ranking him among the top three fighters he had faced.
But whether he would like a rematch with Suarez after the brutal and bloody initial brawl that nearly cost him his championship remains to be seen.
