Charly Suarez expressed appreciation for all the loyal Filipino fans who’ve strongly supported him in the aftermath of his controversial loss to Emanuel Navarrete on Saturday night.

Suarez, the challenger, deserved better than his first professional defeat — a unanimous technical decision caused by Navarrete’s cut over his left eyebrow. Even if the California State Athletic Commission changes the official result to a no-contest, more damage has been done to Suarez’s career than the skin above Navarette’s eye because we’ll never know what might’ve happened had the eighth round been allowed to continue in the 12-round WBO junior lightweight title matchup.

The CSAC doctor’s decision to stop the action was, of course, a judgment call.

An inability to definitively determine through replays whether Navarrete’s cut was opened by Suarez’s left hand or a seemingly inconsequential clash of heads a split second later was what truly cost him. It was the difference between him losing a technical decision and winning by technical knockout.

Suarez still did his Filipino people proud by pushing Navarrete, who was a 5-1 favorite, throughout a competitive slugfest ESPN aired as a main event in the United States from Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The previously unknown underdog fought ferociously, as if not only his livelihood but his life itself depended upon the outcome.

The 36-year-old solider in the Philippine Army performed the way Manny Pacquiao fought during his rise to superstardom in the U.S. Pacquiao inspired Suarez not only when they met face-to-face before he traveled to America last month for this bout, but when he was longtime member of the Philippines’ national team.

Somehow, 21 years after Pacquiao became a star by dominating Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera, we’re left to discuss his comeback from a 3½-year retirement.

As much as Pacquiao has done for Filipino people through his actions in and out of the ring, he simply shouldn’t fight anymore.

Pacquiao, 46, hasn’t competed in a sanctioned boxing match since August 2021 and was a shell of himself in that 12-round, unanimous-decision defeat to Yordenis Ugas at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Almost exactly six years will have passed since Pacquiao last won a fight by the time he challenges WBC welterweight champ Mario Barrios on July 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

It’s not surprising that WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman still signed off on Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) as a credible challenger for his sanctioning organization’s welterweight champ. The WBC, no matter what Sulaiman says, will always alter its “standards” in the name of cold, hard cash — in this case larger sanctioning fees from a higher-profile fight.

San Antonio’s Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs), who disappointed in settling for a draw with Abel Ramos in his last fight, understandably seeks perhaps his last payday while he still owns a welterweight title. Barrios, 29, also is the most vulnerable of those champions, which is precisely why Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions has matched them in a 12-round, 147-pound title fight that will headline a Prime Video Pay-Per-View show.

Barrios’ most recent performances against Ramos and Fabian Maidana might make the Nevada State Athletic Commission more comfortable as well with licensing a long-inactive fighter who is closer to 50 than 40.

Concern for Pacquiao’s health notwithstanding, enough fans will either pay to watch the event or steal the signal because he is one of the most popular fighters in the history of boxing.

Pacquiao’s inadvisable return will undoubtedly make dollars. Just don’t try to make it make sense.

Erickson Lubin ended another long layoff, 19 months this time, with an 11th-round stoppage of a reluctant Ardreal Holmes on Saturday night at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida, a suburb of Orlando.

Lubin did what he needed to do against a previously unbeaten southpaw who wasn’t willing to engage in the biggest fight of his career. The win will move him into the No. 1 spot in the IBF’s junior middleweight rankings.

If the flawed four-belt system functions as designed, this ascension in the rankings should lead Lubin, also a southpaw, to what would be his first true title shot since Jermell Charlo knocked him out in the first round for the WBC super welterweight title in October 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) has won title eliminators in the past, only to be passed over for 154-pound title shots. The Orlando native fought for the WBC’s interim crown in April 2022, thus his technical-knockout loss to Sebastian Fundora in one of the most dramatic action fights in recent years wasn’t a true title shot.

The only losses of Lubin’s 11-year career came against Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) and Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KOs), a pair of eventual unified junior middleweight champions.

Lubin believes he has been overlooked and underrated at times.

What’s indisputable is the 29-year-old contender has fought a who’s who list of champions, former champions and contenders in his division. Once the IBF names him the mandatory challenger, there shouldn’t be any reason Lubin doesn’t get his shot at whoever owns that IBF belt at that time.

Raymond Muratalla gained some leverage in the lightweight division Saturday night by out-boxing Russian contender Zaur Abdullaev to win the IBF interim title on the Navarrete-Suarez undercard.

Muratalla’s victory essentially makes him the mandatory challenger for Vasiliy Lomachenko, if the three-division champion boxes again. Odds are, however, that the Ukrainian will seek a higher-profile opponent than Muratalla, who would become the IBF’s legitimate lightweight champion.

That wouldn’t necessarily be the worst turn of events for Muratalla, 27. Even at 37, Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) could present insurmountable problems for him.

If Lomachenko doesn’t agree to fight Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) by the IBF’s Aug. 8 deadline, Muratalla might fight himself in position to fill another void for his promoter, Bob Arum. Should Keyshawn Davis defeat Edwin De Los Santos on June 7 in Davis’ hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, Muratalla would be an appealing opponent for Top Rank’s emerging star.

Davis (13-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) doesn’t have many promotable options in his division because he won’t fight his friend, WBC champ Shakur Stevenson, Lomachenko’s status is unknown and WBA champ Gervonta Davis is headed for a rematch with Lamont Roach.

Tim Tszyu, the Australia star Bakhram Murtazaliev demolished, has been scheduled for his second fight, a rematch with Fundora on July 19 in Las Vegas, since his devastating defeat to the unbeaten Russian champion Oct. 17 in Orlando.

Murtazaliev, meanwhile, still hasn’t secured a return from what was viewed as a career-changing destruction of Tszyu. He dropped Tszyu, who was a 7-1 favorite, four times and beat him by third-round TKO to retain his IBF junior middleweight title.

Turki Alalshikh has expressed interest in working with Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs), in part due to a public dispute with Tszyu last summer.

Fights with Lubin, who will eventually be named the IBF’s mandatory challenger for his title, and all-action Ukrainian Serhii Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) would be welcomed additions to the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford undercard or other Ring or Riyadh Season events later this year.

Nonetheless, Murtazaliev’s inactivity is perplexing based on how he tore through Tszyu (25-2, 18 KOs), particularly now that Ramadan has ended and the 32-year-old Muslim doesn’t have any training restrictions.

Murtazaliev’s predicament aside, the Fundora-Tszyu rematch makes perfect sense. Tszyu’s grotesque gash in the middle of his hairline marred the bloody battle Fundora won by split decision in March 2024 at T-Mobile Arena.

Anthony Cacace’s remarkable run over the past year is embodies how a patient, resilient fighter can be rewarded if he makes the most of his opportunities. Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) was 35 when he challenged an undefeated Joe Cordina for the IBF junior lightweight title May 2024 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Cacace stopped “The Welsh Wizard,” who was a 7-1 favorite, in the eighth round. His subsequent victories over former IBF featherweight champ Josh Warrington (32-4-1, 8 KOs), a unanimous decision Sept. 21, and former WBA featherweight champ Leigh Wood (28-4, 17 KOs), a ninth-round TKO on Saturday night, have made the Belfast-based Cacace one of boxing’s most noteworthy stories. … Jake Paul’s MVP Promotions announced the signings Monday morning of Ring/IBF super middleweight champ Savannah Marshall (13-1, 10 KOs) and former fully unified 140-pound champ Chantelle Cameron (20-1, 8 KOs). Both British boxers either were or are among The Ring’s top 10, pound-for-pound, and typify MVP’s commitment to stockpiling the best of the best in women’s boxing. Matching them against championship-caliber opponents in the long term could become troublesome, though, because there is a dearth of talent in most women’s divisions. … We, meaning us at The Ring, should stop calling multiple fights on our cards main events. There can only be one main event according to the very definition of that distinction. If fighters can’t handle the mere mention of competing in co-features, pay-per-view openers or wherever their fights fall in lineups, we shouldn’t redefine the English language to sooth their egos. They’re all compensated more than fairly and are promoted appropriately leading up to these events. Beyond that, this sport has many more pressing problems than this.