Emanuel Navarrete’s first defense of 2025 will reportedly pit him against undefeated former Olympian Charly Suarez atop a title doubleheader
Keith Idec, confirming an earlier report from Dan Rafael, brings word that WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete will meet top-ranked contender Charly Suarez in the main event of a May 10th San Diego show co-headlined by Zaur Abdullaev vs Raymond Muratalla.
Suarez (18-0, 10 KO) went one-and-done in Rio after dropping a split decision to Joe Cordina, and though he’s claimed few scalps of note in his six years as a pro, Ryan Songalia correctly points out that it’s not for lack of trying; Andres Cortes withdrew from a planned eliminator last year shortly after fellow unbeaten Henry Lebron likewise pulled out of a fight.
At 36 years old, I’m honestly glad the WBO is just going ahead and giving him the shot.
Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KO) looks to be back in form after rough outings against Robson Conceicao and Denys Berinchyk, smashing Oscar Valdez in their rematch. Should he emerge victorious, one would hope that he’d pursue unifications with O’Shaquie Foster or the winner of Angelo Leo vs Tomoki Kameda, but Suarez has the pedigree to potentially play spoiler.
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