 |
| Charly Suarez's long wait for a world title bout is finally over. Ivan Saldajeno (file photo) |
MANILA--For Charly Suarez, his upcoming world title bout against Emanuel Navarrete is a long time coming.
Suarez and Navarrete will collide on Sunday (Philippine Time) at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego for the WBO junior lightweight belt, and Suarez, who is just making his first attempt at a world title win, wants to cherish this moment already.
"This is the time that I've been waiting for almost half of my career. I prayed for this fight, and this is it," said Suarez, currently 18-0 with 10 knockouts, during the pre-fight press conference on Friday (Philippine Time).
Although he is set to battle a tested veteran of 42 pro bouts, winner in 39 of those including 32 finishes, in the 30-year-old Navarrete, the 36-year-old Suarez, who played about 350 Olympic-style contests, including some matches in the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, looks to bank on his illustrious amateur career to score a major stunner.
"This is my experience I bring into the pro career, and this is it, the world title [bout] comes. So I'm ready and excited for this fight this coming [Sunday]," Suarez further said.
He also wants to prove that, despite the recent resurgence of Japanese boxing stars like the Inoue Brothers, the Philippines remains the archrival of Mexico in the lighter weights.
"This is a big part ng karera ko. Bumalik na naman ako para ipakita na magaling ang Pinoy," Suarez continued.
On the other hand, Navarrete, who is defending his 130-pound division belt for the fourth time, vows to give the boxing fans a good performance against Suarez.
"We know that Suarez is coming for the title, so we want it to be a good card and a good fight, so that all the people know that I'm ready to retake the good path of victories at least here in San Diego with a win," Navarrete said in Spanish.
Navarrete successfully defended the WBO junior lightweight title after knocking out Oscar Valdez last December, which, according to him, shows that he is now back at full strength after a hand injury cost him the bout for the WBO lightweight title against Denis Berinchyk.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
.jpg)
