Emanuel Navarrete retained his WBO super featherweight title under controversial circumstances on Saturday night.

The Mexican slugger suffered a nasty cut above his left eyebrow in his bout with Filipino challenger Charly Suarez, which led to him being pulled out by the doctor at the start of the eighth round.

Navarrete suffered a horror cut in the sixth round
2

Navarrete suffered a horror cut in the sixth roundCredit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Referee Edward Collantes determined that the gash had resulted from a clash of heads, and so the fight was sent to the scorecards, with Navarrete being awarded the unanimous technical decision win by margins of 78-75 and 77-76 (twice).

The result was immediately called into question when a replay revealed that the cut had been opened by a left-handed punch from Suarez in the sixth stanza.

After the shot had landed, Suarez and Navarrete’s heads came together, making it hard for the third man in the ring to rule in the moment what had caused the gash.

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Video replay official Jack Reiss had the power to overturn the referee’s decision.

However, he affirmed there was no conclusive evidence from the initial footage he reviewed.

“Our rules on replay say unless it’s undisputed, the referee’s call shall stand, and this was very disputable,” Reiss told BoxingScene.

“I had quite a few looks at it. But nothing up close. And nothing at the correct angle.”

If the correct call had been made, then Suarez would have been crowned world champion via eighth-round doctors’ stoppage.

Yet even after watching the replay from the best angle, Navarrete maintained that it was a headbutt that had split him open.

“I felt it was a headbutt. I saw the review. It seems like a punch, but it exploded two layers of skin,” Navarrete told assembled media post-fight.

“I didn’t want it to end. I was fine to keep going.

Replay found after commission decision. ⁦@trboxing⁩. Deserved rematch to come. pic.twitter.com/PS6EFbfq24

— Carl Moretti (@CarlMoretti) May 11, 2025\n\n\n”,”width”:550,”height”:550,”provider”:”twitter”,”attribs”:{“data-tweetid”:”1921423645085483306″}}” data-provider=”twitter” data-widget-name=”embed” data-widget-id=”embed-f95bdb81″>

Punch or accidental head butt 👀

What do you think? pic.twitter.com/zdZP7xj0df

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 11, 2025\n\n\n”,”width”:550,”height”:550,”provider”:”twitter”,”attribs”:{“data-tweetid”:”1921416226108027287″}}” data-provider=”twitter” data-widget-name=”embed” data-widget-id=”embed-a15e6f9a”>

Both boxers' heads came together after the punch that cut Navarrete
2

Both boxers’ heads came together after the punch that cut NavarreteCredit: X – Top Rank
“I felt like the best rounds were still to come. But the doctor stopped the fight.”

Suarez, who entered the bout with an unblemished 18-0 record, felt a rematch was justified given the controversy surrounding the result.

“I thought I had a chance to win the fight. I had five more rounds to try to win, if the bout hadn’t been stopped,” said Suarez.

“I respect Navarrete because he’s a good boxer, and he’ll give me a chance to rematch after a fight that was entertaining.

“I’m sad, but I have the hope they will give me another chance. Maybe next time.”

The California State Athletic Commission is now expected to meet to review the controversial ending, with the expectation being that they will overturn Navarrete’s win to a no-contest.