WBA Asia super featherweight champion Charly Suarez is set to fight as a challenger against Australian champion boxer Paul Fleming on March 15 in Sydney, Australia.

The two boxers both saw action in the Olympics, have unbeaten records, and are about the same age at 34.

But Suarez is the underdog in this fight.

His opponent, Fleming, holds three belts in the super featherweight division – IBO Inter-Continental, WBA Oceania, and WBC Asian Boxing Council. The IBO Inter-Continental Super featherweight title is also sanctioned as world title eliminator.

Also at stake in the Sydney fight is the vacant IBF Inter-Continental Super Featherweight title.

Suarez said this is his opportunity to fight and steal the belts from the champion. 

Tale of the tape

Fleming, called the “Showtime,” has a stellar record of 28 wins, 17 of them knockouts, and one draw. The Queensland southpaw fought in the 2008 Beijing Olympics at featherweight division.

Suarez, called the “King’s Warrior,” has 14 wins, eight of them were knockouts. As amateur boxer, he represented the Philippines in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He also won gold medals for the Philippines in three Southeast Asian Games and saw action in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

Suarez is quite shorter at 5’5,” compared to his Australian foe who stands at 5’9.”

Prepping for the fight

Despite being the underdog, the Filipino boxer is on the right track in his preparation for the war.

“Yung determination naman na manalo at maiuwi yung mga korona… yung apat na korona, nandiyan naman po wala naman pong excuse diyan,pagsumikapan at gawin lang yung best,” Suarez said.

The native of Davao del Norte also added that his team is always on the go and fights inside the ring.

“We grabbed that opportunity, tapos kasi ready naman always yung training at laban, ready naman sa training kaya ilabas nalang sa laban,” the Filipino boxer from Davao del Norte said

Coach Delfin Boholst said preparation is not only in his physical but also in his faith and mental state because this is why he is winning every fight.

Boholst is also confident in the experience that Suarez has.

Charly came from being an Olympian before fighting professionally, and this journey can be their key to overcoming the Australian boxer.

Coach Boholst also has two plans for Suarez to win the fight. 

Suarez can knock down Fleming to seal the win, but Boholst also knows that Fleming cannot last 12 rounds, so Suarez is trained to endure the pain in 12 rounds of a fight.

The team also requested the promoter that they could go to Australia earlier because Suarez could prepare and adjust to the climate.

Until now, Suarez is still in training to ensure his body is in condition for the fight.

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