Big-money bout

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum has guaranteed top Filipino super-featherweight Charly Suarez a rich deal when he battles Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko in February for the right to vie for three world title belts sometime in the middle of 2027.

“He’s gonna get a fantastic purse,” Arum told DAILY TRIBUNE from his Las Vegas home.

Arum’s Top Rank Inc. is staging the Suarez-Lomachenko showdown “probably in Las Vegas.”

“It’s going to be in the middle of February,” said the Harvard-educated who turns 95 in December.

Based on Top Rank’s timeline, the winner of the Suarez-Lomachenko duel will become the challenger of O’Shaquie Foster, holder of the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Organization (WBO) and International Boxing Federation belts.

Then whoever survives the royal rumble fights the World Boxing Association titleholder that will determine an undisputed champion at 130 pounds.

Arum said the Suarez-Lomachenko is pretty much a done deal.

“They’re finalizing all the papers with Charly’s people,” Arum added.

Suarez has decided to accept the Lomachenko clash as efforts to get him a world title shot has become increasingly difficult despite his status as the WBO’s mandatory challenger.

“If this is the only way to a world title fight, then so be it,” said Suarez’s trainer and former national team buddy Delfin Boholst.

Foster became a three-belt champion after beating Mexican Emanuel Navarrete last month.

Although they have not faced each other in the professional ranks, Suarez and Lomachenko have squared off once and that took place during the World Series of Boxing.

Lomachenko, fighting for the Ukraine Otamans, defeated Suarez, representing the Italia Thunder, on points.

On paper, Lomachenko, who logged an incredible 396 wins in the amateurs against one loss, still looks very much the heavy favorite.

He holds an 18-3-0 record with 12 knockouts, a three-division champion but is coming out of retirement, having fought for the last time in May 2024 when he halted George Kambosos.

Suarez, who is 38 years old like Lomachenko, sports an 18-0-1 (win-loss-no contest) slate with 11 knockouts.

Once all the paper work gets done, Suarez and Boholst are flying back to the United States to start camp.

“We are making sacrifices by leaving our families and spending Christmas and the holidays without them,” said Boholst, confident that Suarez would rise to the occasion.