Sampson’s strength
Meet Phl boxing’s newest heavyweight backer
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Meet Phl boxing’s newest heavyweight backer
Undefeated Filipino boxer Charly Suarez celebrates his latest win alongside new promoter Sampson Lewkowicz.
Photograph courtesy of jhay Otamias
Sampson Lewkowicz always makes sure to find time with wife Ketty despite his busy schedule.
Photograph courtesy of Sampson Boxing
Philippine boxing has found a new backer in Sampson Lewkowicz.
The 75-year-old Uruguayan-American promoter is now working to get top-rated super-featherweight Charly Suarez his much-deserved world title shot.
Lewkowicz, who runs Sampson Boxing with offices in Las Vegas and New York, recently signed Suarez. The Filipino has struggled to secure a rematch with World Boxing Organization 130-pound champion Emanuel Navarrete despite being the WBO’s mandatory challenger for a long time.
The controversy
Suarez was supposed to face Navarrete in a rematch last year after their first fight in May 2025 in San Diego, California.
In that bout, Suarez landed what should have been a fight-ending blow. He was denied the TKO win and the WBO belt after officials wrongly ruled it a butt. Navarrete was initially declared winner by technical decision.
The California State Athletic Commission later reviewed video replay and overturned it to a No-Contest. The WBO then ordered a rematch.
But Navarrete opted to fight fellow Mexican Eduardo Nunez, the IBF titleholder, in a unification instead.
Enter Sampson
About two months ago, Suarez and his chief trainer-manager Delfin Boholst met Lewkowicz while on vacation in Hawaii and the US mainland.
‘It’s not just family that keeps me going. It’s boxing. I continue to fight for the boxers.’
Boholst admitted he didn’t know who Lewkowicz was. But minutes into their meeting, he knew they’d found the right guy.
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Lewkowicz immediately went to work and arranged a fight for July 19. The venue later moved from San Francisco to San Bernardino, California, but the date held.
The unbeaten Suarez made a statement, stopping Mexican-American Manuel Avila in less than one round. With 29 seconds left in the first, Suarez dropped Avila with a jarring right. Avila beat the count, but referee Ray Corona waved it off.
Aside from Suarez and Boholst, the happiest man in the ring was Lewkowicz.
A familiar name in Phl boxing
Born in January 1951 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Lewkowicz came to America at age 20 and married his wife Ketty.
“We’ve been married a long time,” Lewkowicz told the DAILY TRIBUNE after the fight.
He had postponed the interview by 10 hours just to have breakfast with Ketty and take care of her. “I will be the one to call you when it’s morning there in the Philippines,” he said.
Lewkowicz is no stranger to Philippine boxing. He helped Manny Pacquiao rise in the US when major promoters passed on him. He was also involved with Johnriel Casimero, Donnie Nietes, Marvin Sonsona — the Philippines’ youngest world champion — and Gerry Peñalosa.
The mission
Now with Suarez, Lewkowicz is clear on his job.
“The promoter has the duty to give the fighter the best,” he said. “I knew who he was and he was supposed to be a champion a year and a half ago.”
His marching orders: deliver Navarrete to Suarez before the year ends. Time is of the essence.
“I don’t know how many years are left,” said the cancer survivor. “I don’t think I will retire because if I retire, I will die.”
What keeps him going isn’t just family.
“It’s not just family that keeps me going. It’s boxing. I continue to fight for the boxers.”
With faith in God and a promoter like Lewkowicz in his corner, Suarez finally has a real shot.
Take a bow, Sampson Lewkowicz.
