The team of Australian Liam Wilson (11-2, 7 KOs), who, together with Emanuel Navarrete (37-1, 31 KOs), made a mahach the other day and flew ahead of schedule in a fight for the vacant WBO super featherweight title (up to 59 kg) , protested, stating that the referee gave the Mexican 27 seconds, not the traditional 10, to recover from a knockdown in the 4th round.
Experienced Navarrete, having fallen after Liam’s protracted attack, specifically to “buy time”, spat out his mouth guard during the count. Referee Chris Flores, however, decided to put it back into Emanuel’s mouth rather than pass it into the boxer’s corner.
At the same time, he “made a mistake” and put the mouthguard on incorrectly, which gave the Mexican extra seconds to recover. Navarrete recovered and in the 9th round put the squeeze on the enemy.
Scandalous weigh-in of Navarrete and Wilson
“He was shaking after he got up. The whole world knows about it. And the people who were witnesses know. The video footage doesn’t lie,” Liam says, frustrated.
Promoter Matt Rose of No Limit hopes their protest will lead to a nullification of the fight and a rematch. We don’t mind at all – the mahach was what we need, it won’t hurt to look again.
On the eve of the fight, Jeff Fenech, a member of the Hall of Famer, bet on compatriot Wilson.
