FRESH from his rematch beatdown of Oscar Valdez, WBO super-featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete returns to the ring against Charly Suarez. It seems the Mexican has officially settled on a weight class at least.
Joining him and Suarez on this Top Rank-promoted show in San Diego is a varied cast of characters looking to make their way in the sport and aspire to greater things, or try to get back to a level they once were. Let’s see who is on the Navarrete-Suarez undercard.
Raymond Muratalla vs. Zaur Abdullaev
An intriguing clash for the IBF Interim lightweight title sees unbeaten California prospect Muratalla take on in-form Russian Abdullaev. While Lomachenko decides what to do with the full belt, the next level operators scrape and scrap for relevance.
Abdullaev is unbeaten in nine since a 2019 loss to Devin Haney, back when Haney used to let his hands go and finish people off. Muratalla is a competent boxer-puncher who recently received more than he bargained for from Tevin Farmer. He reckons stoic Abdullaev will be too slow. I tend to agree. You can read the BN Online full preview piece here.
Andres Cortes vs. Salvador Jimenez
Cortes is 27 years old, 22 unbeaten as a pro, and riding high after a string of solid wins. World title opportunities must surely be knocking soon. Jimenez was last seen losing on points to Ryan Garner for the European title. A win for the Spaniard would be an upset.
Giovani Santillan vs. Angel Beltran Villa
Battling back from a brutal stoppage loss to Brian Norman Jr, a one-round knockout of flaky Fredrick Lawson won’t have told us much about Santillan’s recovery process. Rugged Mexican Villa should ask tougher questions here.
Albert Gonzalez vs. Jose Ivan Guardado Ortiz
Making his case as the next world-class ‘Chop Chop’ after the eventual disappearance of DeMarcus Corley, 23-year-old Gonzalez is a red-hot prospect. Guardado Ortiz has lost three times, including a couple inside the distance. Expect Gonzalez to make it three times.
Best of the Rest
Not much is known Stateside about Sebastian Hernandez, but that 19-0 record with 18 KOs looks tasty. One man capable of testing the veracity of that power is Armenian tough guy Azat ‘Crazy A’ Hovhannisyan, who has rumbled on even terms with some of the best.
Well-supported Alan Garcia was moving in the right direction until he hit a surprise stumbling block last September and was stopped by a lesser foe. ‘Kid Kansas’ continues the journey against the superbly-nicknamed ‘Vikingo’, Cristian Medina Garcia.
Two 1-0 novices continue their respective pro journeys as Samuel Contreras fights Dillon Cervantes Alvarado and Perla Bazaldua battles Mona Ward, both over four rounds (four-twos in the latter case).
