Watch out for Charly

It was Halloween night when Bob Arum, the Hall of Fame boxing promoter, picked up the phone and greeted the caller from Manila.

“How ya doin?”

“I am good. It’s been a while, Mr. Arum.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” he said in agreement, adding that he has somehow missed the good old days when Manny Pacquiao was still around doing his thing for Top Rank.

“How’re the guys?”

I told him that the guys — the so-called Pac Boys — are still very much around and remain involved in the fight game but not as immersed as before when Pacquiao was in the thick of the fight.

After a few more niceties, the caller went down to business.

“So, Mr. Arum, what’s down the road for Charly Suarez?”

Apparently, Arum has something in store for the top Filipino super-featherweight.

For meeting Vasyl Lomachenko, the Ukrainian star who is coming off retirement, Suarez stands to get a hefty paycheck.

“Fantastic purse,” added Arum, who turns 95 on 8 December.

The fight is being targeted for 13 February with Las Vegas as a potential site.

It’s only a matter of time before Top Rank makes a formal announcement with the winner of the Suarez-Lomachenko showdown assured of a shot at the three belts of O’Shaquie Foster, who has the World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Organization (WBO) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) belts.

I could not determine just how big is Arum’s description of a “fantastic purse” and Delfin Boholst, who manages and trains Suarez, is keeping his fingers crossed that they are going to end up smiling from ear-to-ear when contracts are signed.

But wait.

Why is it that Suarez is accepting a Lomachenko fight when he is a WBO mandatory challenger?

Isn’t he supposed to fight for what is right?

In a perfect world, Suarez won’t have to go through Lomachenko to get a crack at the crown.

But boxing is a business.

What has made it even more complicated is the fact that Foster isn’t just a WBO champion but likewise a champion in the WBC and the IBF as well.

Since he is a three-belt champion, you won’t expect him to fight one day, defend the WBO jewels and set aside the WBC and IBF in the meantime.

In this current setup, Suarez is at a disadvantage and forced to accept the reality that to get to the top, he has to go through hell.

But there’s one thing that tickled my fancy when I spoke with Boholst a few days after my conversation with Arum.

“Charly told me that Lomachenko doesn’t scare him,” Delfin told me.

I do see where Suarez is coming from.

Back in 2013, Suarez faced Lomachenko when they were still in the amateurs.

Although Lomachenko won, Suarez swore he wasn’t outclassed or overpowered.

And this is probably the reason why Suarez is taking the Lomachenko assignment.

Both are 38 years old.

But Suarez is more active while Lomachenko hasn’t fought in almost two years.

Arum thinks Lomachenko will breeze past Suarez with ease.

Personally, I don’t think Lomachenko won’t be showing up early next year fighting like the Lomachenko of old.

If that happens, Suarez is going to pounce on him like a burly house cat would on a rattled rat.