The WBO super featherweight title fight between Emanuel Navarrete and Charly Suarez didn’t end as fans hoped. After eight hard-fought rounds, the bout was stopped due to a cut over Navarrete’s eye, handing him a technical decision win on Saturday night’s Top Rank Boxing card in Fresno, California.
Elsewhere on the card, Raymond Muratalla made a big statement by outclassing Zaur Abdullaev to win the interim IBF lightweight belt and put himself next in line for Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Emanuel Navarrete vs. Charly Suarez Recap and Highlights
Navarrete entered the event as the reigning WBO super featherweight champion and faced a gritty challenger in Suarez. Both fighters displayed a fantastic mix of taking calculated risks and having responsible defense when tagged with powerful punches. The fight turned out to be a barnburner, with some arguing that Navarrete’s body punches and superior defense would likely help him sway the judges in his favor.
Given the sequences of heavy strikes being exchanged in some of the close-range exchanges, a finish in the later rounds seemed imminent. However, Navarrate suffered a deep cut around his left eyebrow, which eventually resulted in the fight being waved off in the eighth round. The cut was deemed to have been caused by an inadvertent headbutt.
Apparently, on the ringside doctor’s advice, the fight was stopped to prevent any unnecessary damage to Navarrete due to the cut blurring his vision and possibly opening up further and damaging his eye. The fight went to a technical decision, and Navarrete retained his title via points because he was ahead on the scorecards at the stoppage.
Raymond Muratalla def. Zaur Abdullaev Recap and Highlights
The interim IBF lightweight title showdown between Muratalla and Abdullaev was set to determine the mandatory challenger for IBF lightweight kingpin Vasiliy Lomachenko, who’s currently on an injury hiatus. Muratalla made the most of the opportunity to earn the interim belt and a fight against the legendary Lomachenko.
He thoroughly outworked Abdullaev in both the offensive and defensive departments of their fight. Nevertheless, there were moments where Abdullaev attempted to use his aggression to turn the tables, but Muratalla’s craftier pugilistic prowess helped him slip and counter well.
Ultimately, the judges scored the fight as a unanimous decision victory for Muratalla, who secured the interim IBF lightweight title and seems to be on a collision course with Lomachenko.
Emanuel Navarrete vs. Charly Suarez Full Card Results
In addition to Navarrete and Muratalla’s victories, several other pugilists performed excellently and secured wins at the event. The complete results for the fight card, headlined by Navarrete and Suarez, are as follows:
WBO super featherweight title: Navarrete (c) def. Suarez via technical decision (78-75, 77-76, 77-76)
Interim IBF lightweight title: Muratalla def. Abdullaev via unanimous decision (118-110, 119-109, 119-109)
Super featherweight: Andres Cortes def. Salvador Jimenez via unanimous decision (100-90, 100-90, 99-91)
Welterweight: Giovani Santillan def. Angel Beltran via unanimous decision (97-93, 97-93, 97-93)
Super flyweight: Perla Bazaldua def. Mona Ward via unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)
Lightweight: Alan Garcia def. Cristian Medina Garcia via unanimous decision (79-73, 79-73, 79-73)
Super bantamweight: Sebastian Hernandez def. Azat Hovhannisyan via unanimous decision (98-91, 98-91, 98-91)