Fans on social media are widely critiquing Emanuel Navarrete for missing weight on his first two tries at the weigh-in for his defense of his WBO super featherweight title against Charly Suarez on Saturday, May 10th, at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.

(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)

Navarrete Overcomes

Emanuel (39-2-1, 32 KOs) eventually weighed in successfully on his third try at 130 lbs after being given two hours to take off the excess .3 lbs. He’d weighed in initially at 130.4 and then 130.3 on the second try at the scales.

Weigh-in Results

– Emanuel Navarrete 130 vs. Charly Suarez 129.9
– Raymond Muratalla 134.4 vs. Zaur Abdullaev 134.6

Boxing fans on social media see today’s weight struggles by Navarrete as an example of his lack of professionalism, because he’s been a pro for 13 years. He knows by now what he’s supposed to do to make weight, yet he didn’t do it.

They see Navarette as lacking discipline, and he needs to move up to 135. However, he looked drained on the scales last year for his fight at lightweight against Denys Berinchyk on May 18, 2024. Navarrete came in right at the 135-lb lightweight limit for that fight, and looked soft in the midsection.

While it’s great that Navarrete did make weight today for his fight against Suarez, he needs to consider moving up to lightweight. He’s clearly struggling to stay at 130, and he looks like a junior middleweight after rehydrating for his fight. His size advantage of his opposition at super featherweight is obviously a reason why he’s chosen to stay in the division. When he fought last year against Berinchyk at lightweight, he was nothing special.

Muratalla Looks Sharp

Lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) looked in excellent shape, coming in at 134.4 lbs for his 12-rounder against Zaur Abdullaev (20-1, 12 KOs). The interim IBF lightweight title will be on the line for their fight. There’s a very good chance that the interim belt will be elevated to the full one for the winner. Vasily Lomachenko holds the IBF title but there’s doubt whether he’ll return to defend it due to injury problems.