Charly Suarez makes ring return with Navarrete rematch in horizon
At A Glance
- The undefeated 37-year-old is taking on the comebacking American fighter Manuel Avila in a 10-round bout at the Civic Center in San Francisco on July 11.
World-rated super featherweight Filipino Charly Suarez is set for a ring return, more than a year since the controversial "no-contest" against World Boxing Organization (WBO) titleholder Emanuel Navarrete.
The undefeated 37-year-old is taking on the comebacking American fighter Manuel Avila in a 10-round bout at the Civic Center in San Francisco on July 11.
Suarez is still a mandatory challenger against Navarrete, who now holds the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title, on top of the WBO strap, and the fight against Avila should serve as a tuneup before the much-awaited rematch.
The Suarez-Navarrete rematch is being planned to happen around September.
The bout, however, isn’t coming without a risk as a loss for Suarez could mean losing his WBO No. 1 ranking as well as the mandatory challenge.
The pride of San Isidro, Davao Del Norte, however, assured that no upset will be happening.
“Last year I accepted that it was a no contest but they gave me this opportunity to fight again this coming July. (My team and I) will do our best to win our fight,” said Suarez who packs a perfect 18-0 record with 10 knockouts.
Suarez and Navarrete figured in a thrilling showdown May of last year which ended with a Navarrete technical decision victory after the Mexican sustained a nasty cut, first ruled coming off an accidental headbutt.
Reviews, however, revealed that the cut came from a booming counter left from Suarez which could have resulted in the Filipino winning by stoppage. Instead, the bout was ruled as a no-contest and a mandatory rematch was issued.
But Avila, who is coming off a stoppage win just last week to announce his return after three years of inactivity, aims to spoil the plans for the Filipino.
“Last week I came off a win but from here on, I just got to focus on this fight and prove that I belong in that ring,” added the American who boasts a 26-2-1 record.