By REYNALD MAGALLON
Charly Suarez was well aware of the risks going into a super featherweight fight against Manuel Avila at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, California on Sunday, July 19 (Manila time).
But the benefit of getting the rhythm, timing and sharpness of an actual fight to get himself ready for the rematch against unified International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization(WBO) champion Emanuel Navarrete easily outweighs the possibility of losing and getting stripped of his mandatory challenger status.
For one, there’s no doubt within the camp of Suarez that the pride of Davao del Norte that he can knock out his Mexican counterpart.
“Para sa akin, knockout talaga ito,” Suarez head trainer Delfin Boholst declared in a phone interview with Manila Bulletin-Tempo.
“Ako yung ako yung sumasalo ng suntok ni charly ang sakit eh sabi ko may kakalagyan talaga,” he added noting that even some of Suarez’s sparring partners ended up bleeding during their training.
Suarez did look sharp during the official weigh-in, coming in at 129 pounds, very much within the 130lbs limit. Avila, on the other hand, tipped the scales 131.2lbs in his first try and then 130.6lbs in his second.
That means only Suarez is eligible to win the vacant WBO International Super Featherweight title at stake.
The 37-year-old Filipino fighter is entering the bout with a perfect 18-0 record while Avila has a 26-2-1 record including a win just last May against Ruben Garcia Hernandez — his first fight after a three-year sabbatical.
