Charly Suarez takes a giant risk next week when he battles veteran Manuel Avila in a ten-round super-featherweight clash at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, California.

Ranked No. 1 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), Suarez is aching to secure a rematch with Mexican Emanuel Navarrete but a loss to Avila could put that in serious jeopardy.

Navarrete and Suarez had battled to a No-Contest in May last year in San Diego.

Since then, Suarez has been attempting to pin down Navarrete on the strength of his status as the WBO’s mandatory contender.

Unlike Suarez, Navarrete was able to fight after and he won against fellow Mexican Eduardo Nunez.

Armed with an 18-0-0 win-loss-draw card with ten knockouts, Suarez has been in the United States the past few months alongside chief trainer and manager Delfin Boholst.

Providing Boholst a helping hand in training Suarez is Eric Belanger, who owns and runs Split-T Boxing Club in Las Vegas.

Suarez and Boholst have known each other dating back to their days in the Philippine national team.

Avila, an American of Mexican lineage, holds a 26-2-1 mark with nine wins inside the distance.

“This fight is very important for me because I know that if I lose, I've done everything I can do in my career. So, I will show the people of the world that I’m still number one in my weight division in this fight. I know that my opponent trained hard for this fight, and I don’t want to lose, so I’ve trained hard too and I will do my best to win, no matter what happens.

“He’s a good, scientific boxer, but I can say anything I want before the fight, but in the ring, we will see what happens.”

Suarez and Boholst were on vacation in Hawaii when they got a call from seasoned fight figure Sampson Lewkowicz, who is spearheading next week’s show.

Lewkowicz, an Uruguayan native, also played a vital role in the rise of Manny Pacquiao in the United States when he was still joining hands with Murad Muhammad of M&M Promotions.

Suarez is nearing the twilight of his career.

“My dream is to become a world champion,” said Suarez, a member of the Philippine Army, who turns 38 in August.

Lewkowicz might just be the guy needed to make it happen.