Bob Arum claims he had Emanuel Navarrete ahead going into the 12th round against O’Shaquie Foster on Saturday night. That is a baffling read on a fight where Foster boxed circles around him before dropping Navarrete twice in the final three minutes.

Foster (26-3, 12 KOs) outclassed Navarrete (40-3-1, 33 KOs) by unanimous decision in San Antonio to collect the IBF and WBO super featherweight titles alongside his WBC belt. The judges turned in cards of 118-108, 115-111, and 118-108.

The Top Rank boss somehow watched a completely different fight through the first 11 rounds.

“Navarrete is not the easiest guy to fight because he comes from so many different angles, and I had him slightly ahead going into the last round,” Arum said to Fight Hub TV.

Sure, Navarrete is awkward. He throws punches from weird trajectories that you cannot mimic in training camp. Trying to argue that he was actually winning the fight going into the 12th is another story entirely.

Throwing unorthodox shots from strange angles does not win rounds if you are hitting air or gloves. Plodding forward without landing clean punches does not score points either. You have to look at who is actually landing effective blows. Foster picked Navarrete apart all night, yet Arum’s unofficial tally completely ignored his ring generalship.

The official scorecards shred Arum’s narrative. Foster’s two knockdowns in the 12th padded the final gap, though he already had the fight locked up on the cards. Two judges had Foster winning by ten points at the final bell. Even the tightest card had him up by four. Do the math without the 10-7 final round, and Foster was still cruising to a comfortable victory.

Arum conveniently skipped giving a round-by-round breakdown to back up his claim. Knowing which six rounds he somehow handed to Navarrete would be fascinating. What exactly was Arum scoring?

Boxing fans debate close rounds all the time. Claiming Navarrete led after 11 rounds is just pure promoter spin.

Foster should not have to rely on two late knockdowns just to get full credit for a masterclass. Dropping Navarrete twice was simply the exclamation point on a dominant night. Arum is trying to paint a picture where Foster needed a last-minute miracle to pull out the win, which is an insult to the clinic everyone else just watched.

Denzel Bentley is challenging Gustavo Olivieri to explain what changed after claiming the WBO president publicly agreed to let him make a voluntary defense before facing mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez next year.

Bentley’s response follows Olivieri’s explanation that the organization never received a formal petition to approve the proposed fight against Shane Mosley Jr. The dispute leaves two different accounts of how Bentley’s planned voluntary defense reached this point.

“Whether I had an opponent or not this guy agreed and tweeted I get a voluntary defence before the end of the year then fight yo-yo next year which I was happy to do so the question everyone needs to ask is what changed,” Bentley wrote on X.

That is the question Bentley wants answered. His argument is that Olivieri had already accepted the sequence: a voluntary before the end of 2026, followed by Hernandez in 2027.

Olivieri, speaking to Tru School Sports, described a process that still required formal approval.

“We never received a formal petition. From Zuffa, from team Bentley, or from team Mosley for this particular fight.”

The WBO president added that every championship defense requires the approval of its championship committee, whether the opponent is a mandatory challenger or a voluntary selection.

According to Olivieri, Bentley had no date, opponent, or venue when the mandatory obligation needed to be addressed. Hernandez had been the designated challenger since July, and his team submitted a petition seeking enforcement.

Bentley is scheduled to face Mosley on November 7 in London, but the WBO rejected his appeal to take a voluntary defense and instructed him to commit to Hernandez. sports.yahoo.com

The wording of Olivieri’s earlier post is therefore crucial. An explicit agreement allowing Bentley to fight a voluntary before Hernandez would give the British fighter a reasonable basis to question the subsequent ruling. Permission dependent on committee approval would leave Bentley’s team responsible for completing that process.

A public conversation with the president and formal authorization from the championship committee may be separate steps. Bentley’s latest response does not explain whether his team submitted the details needed to secure that authorization.

Hernandez has his own interests to protect. He pursued his mandatory opportunity and asked the WBO to enforce it. Accepting Bentley’s preferred timetable would require him to wait while the champion takes another fight.

Bentley says he was willing to face Hernandez next year. The disagreement is over whether he had permission to take another opponent first—and whether Olivieri’s earlier words support the permission Bentley believes he received.

Dalton “Thunder” Smith (20-0, 14 KOs) retained his WBC light welterweight title with a split decision over former champion Alberto “La Avispa” Puello (25-2, 11 KOs) on Saturday at a sold-out Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England.

Two judges scored the fight 115-113 for Smith, while the third had Puello ahead 115-112. Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing promoted the event, which aired on DAZN.

The opening six rounds were closely contested, with this writer’s unofficial card even after Puello took the fifth and sixth.

Smith responded well in the seventh and eighth, edging the action as swelling appeared beneath Puello’s left eye. Puello answered with stronger work in the ninth and tenth before Smith took the 11th.

In the final round, a left hand from Puello opened a small cut on Smith’s right cheek. Smith began celebrating during the final 30 seconds, although the divided scorecards showed how close the contest had been.

Lee Every refereed.

Giorgio Visioli Edges Maxi Hughes

Unbeaten southpaw Giorgio “The Italian Job” Visioli (12-0, 6 KOs) defeated veteran Maxi “Maximus” Hughes (29-10-2, 6 KOs) by majority decision over ten rounds to win the vacant WBC International Silver lightweight title.

Two judges scored it 96-94 for Visioli, with the third returning a 95-95 draw.

Visioli’s effective jab helped him through much of the first seven rounds. Hughes opened a cut over Visioli’s left eyebrow with a right jab in the eighth, but Visioli responded and finished strongly enough to secure the decision. Kieran McCann refereed.

Shannon Ryan Stops Emma Dolan In Rematch

Shannon “Kaos” Ryan (12-1, 3 KOs) avenged her previous defeat to Emma Dolan (9-2, 1 KO) with a first-round stoppage in their scheduled ten-round super flyweight rematch.

Around 20 seconds into the fight, Ryan dropped Dolan with a right hand to the side of the face. Dolan rose, but another right followed by a left sent her down again.

Referee Howard Foster stopped the contest at 40 seconds after Dolan regained her feet.

Edward Hardy Outpoints Diego Ruiz

Edward Hardy (9-0, 3 KOs) remained unbeaten with an eight-round points victory over Diego “El Profeta” Ruiz (28-16-1, 14 KOs).

Referee Jamie Kirkpatrick scored it 79-73 for Hardy, who controlled most of the action from the second round onward.

Both fighters maintained a high work rate during an active final round, but Hardy finished with a clear points win.

Joe Hayden Defeats Will Harrison

Joe Hayden (25-0, 4 KOs) handed Will “The Thrill” Harrison (8-1-2, 0 KOs) his first professional defeat in their eight-round welterweight bout.

Referee Jamie Kirkpatrick scored it 79-72 for Hayden.

Leo Atang Scores Three Knockdowns In First-Round Stoppage

Nineteen-year-old heavyweight Leo Atang (9-0, 8 KOs) dropped Jonathan “Chicito” Vergara (9-5, 5 KOs) three times before stopping him in the opening round of their scheduled six-round contest.

A right hand dropped Vergara within the first minute. Atang scored another knockdown with a right to the side of the head with approximately 30 seconds remaining.

A third right hand sent Vergara down again in the closing seconds. Referee Jamie Kirkpatrick waved off the fight after Vergara rose, just before the bell.

Chris Mulunda Shuts Out Harley Collison

Chris “Mulla” Mulunda (5-0, 0 KOs) defeated Harley Collison (3-9-2, 0 KOs) by points over six rounds.

Referee Michael Alexander scored every round for Mulunda, returning a 60-54 verdict.
Divine Omojor Wins Professional Debut

Cruiserweight Divine Omojor (1-0, 1 KO) began his professional career with a second-round stoppage of Goran Kozul (8-13, 2 KOs).

Referee Michael Alexander stopped the scheduled four-round bout at 1:52 of the second.

David Diamante served as ring announcer.