An answered prayer

Charly Suarez had just attended Sunday service when he got a call from a major player in his team.

“I just came from church when he called,” Suarez said.

“This is the fight you’ve been waiting for,” the voice on the other line said.

“He” is no less than Luis “Chavit” Singson, the Ilocos Sur kingmaker and benefactor of Suarez.

“I was overjoyed. It was an answered prayer,” said Suarez, who, at 36, will be fighting for the world title on 10 May in San Diego, California.

His opponent is a formidable one.

Mexican Emmanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete, who has mauled four Filipinos in racking up a 39-2-1 win-loss-draw record with 32 knockouts, is that guy Suarez will attempt to topple at the Pechanga Arena.

Despite the odds, Suarez and his team are upbeat that they can get the job done.

Is Suarez intimidated by Navarrete?

Based on what I saw early this week, Suarez isn’t bothered at all that he is set to battle one of Mexico’s finest champions nowadays.

In fact, Suarez is drooling over the prospect of slugging with the long-armed banger from San Juan Zitlaltepec, a small town just 60 kilometers from the capital Mexico City.

In the boxing ring, that means anything can happen.

To get ready for the biggest bout of his career, Suarez is heading to Las Vegas a month before the Navarrete showdown.

Singson has expressed his approval for the early departure as lead trainer Delfin Boholst knows the dangers of arriving late given the 16-hour time difference between Manila and the US West Coast.

Boholst said they will spend a few times training at the Top Rank Gym when there is a need.

“I have been told that there would be days when we have to go there and train as promotional videos are going to be filmed there,” Boholst said.

But most of the time, Boholst said he and Suarez would find an independent gym for a little privacy.

While the Filipino is the clear underdog, Navarrete has to keep his hands up.

A Mexican boxing scribe of mine shot me a text a few days ago.

“Vaquero has had a solid career with three belts won,” wrote Erika Montoya from Mexico City.

“However, this is a high-risk fight. See what happened (when Navarrete fought) with Denis Berchinyk. Fans are confident in Navarrete’s punching power, but will have to be careful not to be surprised by this undefeated fighter who is hungry for the world title,” she added, noting how Navarrete lost to Berchinyk in a bid to win the world lightweight title last year.

As they say in basketball, the ball is round.

In the boxing ring, that means anything can happen.

Remember that many of Philippine boxing’s greatest hits were scored against Mexican fighters.

And Suarez vs Navarrete could end up being added to the growing list of upsets.