Arum downplays ‘Thrilla’ rematch

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum feels Mexican banger Emanuel Navarrete won’t be ready to face Charly Suarez in time for the 50th year celebration of the Thrilla in Manila on 28 September at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Besides, the Top Rank chief insists the California State Athletic Commission (SAC) is still come out with a ruling on the appeal by Suarez to have the eighth-round technical decision be overturned owing to the glaring blunder of referee Ed Collantes.

There are two scenarios that are going to play out when the CSAC meets next month and Arum swears a ruling of No-Contest should be fair enough.

Asked whether the CSAC instead award Suarez with a technical knockout, Arum tells DAILY TRIBUNE on Wednesday from his Las Vegas home that “it’s going to be unfair.”

Suarez and his camp made the appeal after it was confirmed by high-resolution replays that the Filipino’s left straight — and not an accidental clash of heads in the sixth round — caused the hideous cut just above Navarrete’s left eyebrow.

Since Collantes ruled it as a headbutt, the outcome had to be decided by the scorecards of the three judges.

Had it been ruled a cut, Suarez would have been declared winner by technical knockout as the bleeding got worse.

Given the time Navarrete needs to recover from the cut, Arum expressed the belief that holding a rematch during the Thrilla celebrations doesn’t look feasible at this time.

But the 93-year-old New York-born and Harvard-educated lawyer maintains that Navarrete is likely staying at 130 pounds and will continue to defend his World Boxing Organization super-featherweight crown despite having difficulties making weight.

“It’s not as if he was three or four pounds over,” Arum said, stressing that Navarrete was just over by a mere 300 grams.

“We’ll get him a nutritionist,” he added.