WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) was bailed out by the judges and the ringside doctor on Saturday night, with him beating challenger Charly Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) by a controversial eight-round technical decision at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. The flabby-looking Navarrete suffered a cut in the sixth round from what appeared to be a punch, but it was ruled caused by a clash of heads. Replays showed a big punch landing followed by a slight scrapping of heads.
The scores were 78-75, 77-76, and 77-76.
One second into the eighth round, the referee had the ringside doctor examine Navarrete’s cut, and he decided to halt the contest. The crowd booed the stoppage. They’d paid to see a fight, and it looked like Navarrete was being bailed out because he was on the verge of losing the fight. He was exhausted and getting lit up by the better-conditioned and more athletic Suarez.
It wasn’t just the cut. Navarrete was tired from the fast pace, and he didn’t look in shape to be fighting hard. You could tell that he started training camp too overweight to take off all the blubber. So, he was still flabby and out of shape for the fight.
Raymond Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) used his power punching to defeat Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision in a tactical chess match on Saturday night at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. The judges scored it 119-109, 119-109, and 118-110.
After the fight, Muratalla said he wants to fight IBF lightweight champion Vasily Lomachenko for the full belt next and add his name to his resume. It’s doubtful that will happen, because there’s no incentive for Lomachenko to return for a low-paying fight against Muratalla. If he does come back, it’ll be against Gervonta Davis or another big star. Muratalla is NOT a PPV fighter, and he might not ever be.
-
Junior Lightweight: Andres Cortes UD 10 over Salvador Jimenez – Scores: 100-90 (x2), 99-91
-
Welterweight: Giovani Santillan UD 10 over Angel Beltran – Scores: 97-93 (x3)
-
Junior Bantamweight: Perla Bazaldua UD 4 over Mona Ward – Scores: 40-36 (x3)
-
Lightweight: Alan Garcia UD 8 over Cristian Medina – Scores: 79-73 (x3)
-
Junior Featherweight: Sebastian Hernandez UD 10 over Azat Hovhannisyan – Scores: 98-91 (x3)
-
Junior Welterweight: Sammy Contreras UD 4 over Dyllon Cervantes Alvarado – Scores: 40-36 (x3)