Arum guarantees Navarrete-Suarez rematch

Top Rank chief Bob Arum said on Friday that his company will hold an Emanuel Navarrete vs Charly Suarez rematch as mandated by the World Boxing Organization (WBO).

“It’s going to be in May or June,” Arum told DAILY TRIBUNE from Las Vegas.

The US venue has yet to be determined but he expects more details to come out next week when negotiations get under way.

The WBO came out with an order for Navarrete to grant Suarez a rematch following the controversial to their first fight in May last year in San Diego.

Navarrete is coming off a resounding 11th round stoppage of fellow Mexican Eduardo Nuñez, whose International Boxing Federation he also took in the process.

A few days ago, the WBO instructed both camps to reach a deal by 30 March so a fight can be made in 120 days.

In the event an agreement can’t be made, the WBO will hold a purse bid.

Suarez earned the status as mandatory challenger when their first fight was ruled a No-Contest by the California State Athletic Commission.

Earlier, Navarrete was declared winner by eighth-round technical decision when referee Ed Collantes ruled that a legal blow — and not an accidental clash of heads — opened a hideous cut on the Mexican’s left eyebrow.

Less than an hour later, it was proven in a high-definition television replay that Suarez’s left hand that caused the cut.

On the strength of this, the CSAC ordered that a rematch be staged as soon as Navarrete’s wound fully heals.

Instead, Navarrete fought Nuñez in a unification showdown last week in Arizona with Suarez and his team at ringside.

If everything falls into place, Suarez will finally get his chance to get back at Navarrete, provided he doesn’t go up in weight.