The order revives unfinished business from their May 2025 fight in California, where Suarez appeared to outwork Navarrete before the fight ended due to a cut above the champion’s left eye. The referee decided the cut came from an accidental head clash and sent the fight to the scorecards, where Navarrete was awarded a close technical decision.
Video review soon complicated the verdict. Replays eventually showed the cut was likely caused by a punch from Suarez, which would have meant a stoppage victory for the Filipino challenger. The California State Athletic Commission later refused to overturn the result to a knockout victory and instead changed the result to a no contest.
The decision left Suarez without the victory that many observers believed he deserved and preserved Navarrete’s title reign. The WBO responded by ordering a rematch and keeping Suarez in place as the mandatory challenger.
Navarrete has fought once since that night. The three-division champion added the IBF title at 130 pounds last month when he stopped IBF 130-lb champion Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez in the 11th round of their unification fight on February 28, 2026. The victory strengthened Navarrete’s position in the current division, although it also took care of it again.
The rematch carries a risk that did not exist before the first meeting. Suarez gave Navarrete problems with conditioning, steady pressure and a high work rate forcing the champion to fight at a pace he rarely controls. The same factors could make a second fight uncomfortable for a champion who now has greater money opportunities available to him than a unified titleholder.
Navarrete must now decide if he wants to accept the rematch or vacate the WBO belt and take on other fights. Vacancy would remove the mandatory obligation, but would also end a title reign that has lasted since February 2023.
Suarez, a 37-year-old from the Philippines, has not fought since their first meeting and has remained in the WBO’s #1 ranking while awaiting a decision. The sanctioning body’s order now gives him the opportunity he was looking for.
The situation leaves Navarrete with a decision to make: defend the title against the opponent who has troubled him once, or give up the belt and move on. For a champion who escaped the first fight without a loss on his record, the rematch could represent the one fight yet to be settled.
