‘No More Tomorrow’: Charly Suarez to lay it all on the line in Emanuel Navarrete Clash

Such an attitude is owed in part to the patience that the ‘The King’s Warrior’ has been forced to show on the long journey to earning his shot. Suarez first turned heads in the professional game when he defeated Australia’s Paul Fleming for a host of regional belts in March 2023. As a result, the 2016 Rio Olympian earned a contract with major promoter Top Rank .

From there, a pair of methodical decision wins in preliminary contests allowed for a slow crawl up the WBO rankings and ultimately led to a scheduled title eliminator against Andres Cortes set for September of last year. When that bout fell through, Suarez used a devastating left hook to stop late replacement Jorge Castaneda in three rounds, claiming the WBO’s number one contender place in the process. The highlight reel knockout soon took a backseat, though, as Navarette’s December rematch against then-interim champion Oscar Valdez took priority for the champion.

With the amount of stops and starts along the road, it is little wonder that Suarez’s attention has been on the elements of his career within his control. The same goes for boxing as does life. Nothing is guaranteed. In his eyes, receiving a shot at Navarrete’s crown is as much a windfall as it is an earned opportunity.

“So many boxers want to fight against Navarrete. I’m blessed because they chose us,” he said. “My thinking is, no matter what happens, there’s no more tomorrow. At the moment of the fight, I will give 100 percent. That’s the strength of my team. Maybe tomorrow, there is no tomorrow. The opportunity and chance that they’ve given me; I will grab it.”

Knowing that not many 36-year-olds get a second bite at the world title cherry, Suarez is under no illusions about the task at hand. In fighting the man known as ‘Vaquero,’ he is fully aware that he is in for a hard night at the office against an awkward opponent with a penchant for biting down and waging war.

Still, the Manila native is convinced that he can seize the moment. Behind an infectious smile and shy nature, there is a belief in Suarez that tomorrow will, in fact, come after all.

“Every time when I fight in the ring (I think) it is a war,” Suarez concluded. “Emanuel Navarrete’s a great boxer, great heart, a slugger. He’s the world champion. Three or four years ago, he was a very strong boxer, but as of now, I think I beat him.

“Confidently and by God’s grace, I’ll try my best, and with the help of my team, we will beat him in this fight. This is it. This is my time, and this is a big opportunity to come to us. No matter what happens, I will win the fight. This is a big moment, a big opportunity that has come into my life, a one-in-a-million moment. I don’t want to lose it.”