Emanuel Navarrete-Charly Suarez rematch ordered, WBO sets 20-day negotiation deadline

Rematch ordered after commission review overturned the original technical decision

The WBO has ordered Emanuel Navarrete to begin negotiations for a mandatory rematch with Charly Suarez. The decision follows the controversial ending to their first fight.

The WBO announced that Navarrete must begin negotiations with #1 contender Suarez to satisfy a mandatory defense. Both sides have been given 20 days to reach an agreement. If a deal is not finalized within that window, the sanctioning body will schedule a purse bid.

The two fighters first met on May 10, 2025, at Pechanga Arena in San Diego in a bout that ended in confusion.

Navarrete entered that fight defending his WBO junior lightweight title for the fourth time and was widely expected to win comfortably. Suarez instead produced a competitive performance and pushed the champion throughout the contest.

During the sixth round, Navarrete suffered a deep cut over his left eye that was initially ruled the result of a clash of heads. The injury worsened over the following rounds, and the ringside physician stopped the fight in the eighth.

Because the cut was ruled accidental, the fight went to the scorecards. Judges Pat Russell, Lou Moret, and Fernando Villarreal all had Navarrete ahead, giving him a technical decision victory. The ruling later changed.

A subsequent review determined the cut had been caused by a punch from Suarez rather than a head clash. If the punch had been recognized during the fight, Suarez would have been credited with a technical knockout. Instead, the California State Athletic Commission later changed the result to a no-contest. Suarez has not fought since that bout.

Navarrete returned to action on February 28 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, where he stopped Eduardo Nunez in the 11th round to add the IBF junior lightweight title to his WBO belt. The WBO order now places Suarez back in line for another meeting with the champion if the two sides can reach terms in the coming weeks.

WBO president Gustavo Olivieri confirmed the order in a statement posted on X.

“Please be advised that the WBO World Championship Committee has unanimously voted to order negotiations between Unified WBO/IBF Jr. Lightweight Champion Emanuel Navarrete and the #1 world-rated contender and mandatory challenger Charly Suarez to discharge pending mandatory obligation,” Olivieri wrote. “The parties are granted twenty (20) days to reach terms. Failing an agreement, purse bid proceedings will be ordered in accordance with WBO regulations. The minimum bid for the Jr. Lightweight (130 lbs.) division is set at $150,000.”

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