Suarez not going anywhere

Despite his misadventures with the World Boxing Organization (WBO), world No. 1 super-featherweight contender Charly Suarez is determined to fight for the world title regardless of who is on the horizon.

With Mexican two-belt champion Emanuel Navarrete and World Boxing Council titlist O’Shaquie Foster slated to square off on 24 October in Texas, Suarez has been left with no choice but to wait until April 2027 for his mandated shot.

In approving the Navarrete-Foster encounter, the WBO also ordered that the winner defends against the Filipino within 180 days.

“We will be staying at 130,” Suarez’s manager and trainer Delfin Boholst told DAILY TRIBUNE, noting that it would be too risky to campaign at lightweight (135 pounds).

“We haven’t been tested at 135 so we’ll stay at 130,” added Boholst, who was a teammate of Suarez during their days in the Philippine team.

The undefeated Suarez said he would know what moves to undertake next week.

“We are going to discuss our backup plan and by next week, we would know what steps to take,” he added.

Suarez, who just turned 38 a few weeks ago, has been sitting as Navarrete’s challenger for over a year now after the controversial ending to their first fight held in May last year in San Diego.

Instead of giving Suarez his much-deserved rematch, the WBO allowed Navarrete to engage in a unification showdown with Eduardo Nunez last February for the International Boxing Federation belt which he took by stoppage.

Suarez’s camp thought a Navarette duel will be next but the Puerto Rico-based boxing body place the rematch in the freezer anew.

Boholst said their new promoter, the Uruguayan-American Sampson Lewkowicz, will come up with a fallback very soon in an effort to preserve Suarez’s lofty status.