Suarez raises the bar

Three-time SEA Games gold medalist Charly Suarez put on a boxing clinic in trouncing dangerous Carlo Magali to retain his WBA Asia superfeatherweight title at the Flash Grand Ballroom in the Elorde Sports Center, Sucat, last Sunday then declared himself ready to take the next step in marching towards a crack at the world crown.

Suarez, 34, upped his record to 13-0, with seven KOs and impressed the fans who witnessed a classy display of craftsmanship from start to finish. He fought mainly from a distance, raking Magali with jab-straight combinations, and controlled the action from the middle of the ring like a technician. Magali tried to bulldoze his way through Suarez’ defense but couldn’t locate a standing target. Suarez swayed side to side, leaned away, ducked, slipped, switched from orthodox to southpaw and made Magali miss badly. The difference in skill level was like night and day. Still, Magali fought with a lot of heart but ran out of steam in the homestretch as chasing down Suarez from pillar to post took a toll. The judges had no difficulty choosing the winner as both Greg Ortega and Gerald Bassig had it 119-109 and Gil Co, 118-110, all for Suarez.

Magali, 36, hadn’t fought in nearly three years and in his last bout, came off the canvas in the third round to outpoint Al Toyogon via a split 12-round decision for the Philippine 130-pound championship. Magali entered the ring with 41 bouts under his belt and turned pro 13 years before Suarez’ debut so his advantage in experience was pronounced. His resumé included 12 overseas fights in Australia, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Russia and Ghana and five wins were registered abroad. In 2015, Magali was behind on points when he floored Davey Browne in the 11th round and knocked him out in the 12th to win the IBF Pan Pacific superfeatherweight belt in a Sydney suburb. Browne died of head injuries three days after the fight.

Suarez said he didn’t take any chances against Magali and stayed away from engaging. “Malaki ang respeto ko kay Carlo,” he said. “Malakas siya kaya lumaban ako sa labas. Iniwasan ko masugatan at may sunod na laban ako sa Disyembre.” Suarez is booked to face Indonesia’s Defry Palulu for the vacant IBF Pan Pacific superfeatherweight throne at the Grand Ho Tram Strip, Vietnam, in December. Palulu, 31, is unbeaten in his last 11 bouts dating back to 2017 and has a record of 25-2-2, with 14 KOs.

A devout Christian, Suarez said he hopes to someday fight for the world title and bring glory to the Lord and honor to the country. Making it to the top 10 world rankings is a priority and Suarez has a long way to go to break in. He’s No. 37 in the WBC ladder. A fighter he’d like to meet is Welshman Joe Cordina who held the IBF superfeatherweight title briefly this year until he was stripped for failing to defend it within the deadline because of an injury. Cordina beat Suarez by a split decision at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Suarez said a win over Cordina will avenge his Olympic loss and could pave the way for a shot at the world crown.