Injustice in San Diego

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WBO superfeatherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete did an acting job in making it appear a slight head clash with Charly Suarez in the sixth round of their title fight in San Diego last Saturday was severe. A few seconds before, a left from Suarez out of a southpaw stance tore open two layers of skin on Navarrete’s forehead above his left eye. The Mexican surely felt it and when there was a brush of heads, he immediately called out referee Edward Collantes to protest the butt and seized the opportunity to deflect attention from the punch that did the damage.

Navarrete’s claim influenced the ruling that the cut was caused by an accidental headbutt. Available video was limited on instant replay but Jack Reiss, a respected judge/referee, reviewed the monitor and concurred with Collantes’ ruling. Veteran international judge/referee Ver Abainza said if a 12-round bout is stopped after four rounds because a fighter is unfit to continue due to an accidental headbutt, it will go to the scorecards for a technical decision, no matter if the gash is later aggravated by punches.

At the start of the seventh round, it appeared that Navarrete’s corner had the cut under control with a coagulant. But Suarez began to dominate as Navarrete tired out. Suarez also made a key adjustment in his point of attack, charging at Navarrete to restrict the space for his looping punches. Another adjustment was switch-hitting from orthodox to southpaw and back, leaving the Mexican open for counters. The three judges awarded the seventh to Suarez and it was apparent that Navarrete was losing ground. Two of the three judges had scored the sixth for Suarez so the trend was clear. At that stage, Navarrete’s camp figured the Mexican was still ahead on points so a stoppage would save the crown.

Suarez said if the fight went on, Navarrete would’ve been ready to go. Note that the Mexican took a second trip to the scales to make weight the day before so he couldn’t have been in tip-top shape. Navarrete isn’t known to be a hard worker in the gym. The champion’s camp brought in strength and conditioning coach Memo Heredia to address the issue but discipline isn’t something that’s taught, it’s something that’s embraced. With a second left in the eighth, ringside physician Dr. Ramon Ruelaz ruled Navarrete unfit to continue and Collantes waved it off. Was there a collusion among the Mexicans to rescue Navarrete? The three judges scored it for Navarrete but two scorecards had a slim one-point margin which would’ve been erased if the fight continued. What made the situation murkier was the finding that enhanced videos later confirmed the cut was opened by a punch so the fair outcome should’ve been a TKO victory for Suarez.

“Kung hindi na-stop, malaki ang chance ni Charly manalo at hirap na makakita si Navarrete dahil sa cut,” said Mig Elorde who once fought the Mexican. “Ang feeling ko gagawin nila ay no-contest tapos mag-order ng rematch kung kaya ni Navarrete ang timbang. Pag hindi, Charly kontra No. 2 Kenichi Ogawa para sa vacant title. Pwede sa Japan kasi kay Mr. (Akihiko) Honda si Ogawa.”

Clearly, there was injustice in San Diego and some form of trickery from Navarrete to deprive Suarez of an impending win. Suarez never complained and humbly said he will always respect the referee’s decision. He even thanked the Mexican fans for coming out to watch the fight. It’s likely Navarrete will move up to lightweight and avoid engaging Suarez again.