The ball is now in Emanuel Navarrete’s court.

Filipino fighter Charly Suarez cemented his status as mandatory challenger to the World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-featherweight titleholder after scoring a first-round knockout of Mexican-American Manuel Avila on Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila) in the United States.

Suarez got the job done with 29 seconds remaining in the opening round of the scheduled 10-rounder in San Bernardino, California.

A thunderous right to the head was all it took for Suarez to send Avila down and referee Ray Corona called a halt to the carnage.

While Avila was able to beat the count, Corona still decided to stop the fight as Avila wobbled while trying to convince everyone that he was not in serious trouble.

Suarez has been Navarrete’s mandatory challenger the last year and not even the WBO’s directive that he defend against the Filipino could set the stage for a showdown.

The result of their first fight held in May last year in San Diego, was switched from a technical decision win by Navarrete to a No-Contest when it was examined later that a legal blow — and not a headbutt — opened a wound on the Mexican’s eye.

Still, Suarez is hoping that a Navarrete duel takes place next.

“This is the fight boxing fans want to see,” Suarez said after scoring an easy win.

Well-connected Uruguayan boxing man Sampson Lewkowicz, who now runs Suarez’s affairs, said afterwards that Navarrete has nowhere to go but grant Suarez a well-deserved rematch.

The win boosted Suarez’s win-loss card to 19-0 with 11 knockouts.

The loss was Avila’s third in almost 30 bouts.