*story courtesy of Manila Standard
Former Olympian Charly Suarez has vowed to go all out against fellow undefeated Paul Fleming of Australia in their International Boxing Organization super featherweight title bout on Wednesday in Sydney, Australia.
"Pambihira lang itong ganitong pagkakataon. Ito na talaga chance ko,” said Suarez, who at 34 cannot afford to be delayed any longer in his quest for a world boxing title. “Ang totoo kong kalaban is sarili ko. Kahit saang larangan, malaking part ‘yung maturity. Iba ka nang mag-isip kaysa dati.”
“Basta ako lalaban ako at dapat makuha ko ito. Ito na ‘yung level ng mindset ko ngayon. ‘Di ko na pakakawalan, wala ng excuse,” added Suarez, a former Filipino Olympian, who spent most of his boxing career as a national athlete.
After beating all his first 14 opponents, eight of them via stoppage, Suarez is facing his toughest test in his two-year professional boxing career—a taller foe, who has 29 wins with 18 knockouts and without a defeat.
Suarez’s manager and coach Delfin Boholst said they have done everything in their training camp to make Charly stronger than ever.
“Makikita natin si Charly may edad na pero, ‘yung body niya sariwa. Sa laban makikita niyo talaga ‘yung ginawa namin na preparation ni Charly,” he said.
Without the backing of a moneyed manager and promoter, Suarez’s camp turned to friends and supporters for their needs. Some of those who answered their plea for support were former Philippine National Police chief Gen. Debold Sinas and businessman-philanthropist Edward Aguilar.
Sinas and Aguilar, who are close friends and partners in several business ventures, provided financial support for training and other needs of Suarez.
Suarez is coming off a big conquest of the International Boxing Federation Asia junior lightweight title with a technical knockout win over Defry Palulu of Indonesia at the Grand Ho Tram Hotel in Vietnam last Dec. 10.
Two months earlier, the many-time Southeast Asian Games champion decisioned compatriot Carlo Magali to successfully defend the World Boxing Association Asia Super Featherweight title.
As an amateur, Suarez won three Southeast Asian Games golds—two in the lightweight division (2011 Jakarta, 2019 Manila) and one in the featherweight category (2009 Laos)—plus a bronze in 2017 in Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, the left-handed Fleming said he won’t be underestimating Suarez as he has set a fight strategy that suits him against a smaller opponent.
“If Suarez comes at me, I have a counter-punching strategy, and if he stays away then I will come at him,” the Australian said.
December 24, 2024
Dear Partners,
I would like to take this moment to first wish you and your family a safe and blessed holiday season.
This annual report serves as a benchmark for our progress and a commitment to transparency in our operations. In 2024, a notable decline occurred in the number of professional boxing events held domestically. This downturn was primarily attributed to the cessation of grassroots events by VSP Promotions, a key promoter that played a crucial role in introducing new talent to the domestic professional boxing scene.
The challenges faced in organizing professional boxing events in Vietnam intensified in 2024 compared to the previous year, a reflection of the current market conditions. We anticipate this trend to persist in 2025 due to the continued existence of an unsupportive environment for event organizers, fostered by the local amateur boxing federation.
VBO organized the gathering of 10 commissions in Asia in 8/2024. It is our view that Asia has a fundamental challenge in how boxing is managed and supervised. Standardization and coherent cooperation models that have actionable and measurable outcomes will need to be developed in order to create more regional opportunities for the industry participants.
DOMESTIC REPORT 2024
INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2024
The VBO remains dedicated to securing international fight opportunities for Vietnamese boxers within safe environments. While the organization provides recommendations, the final decision to accept a fight rests solely with the boxers and their coaching teams.
OFFICIALS OF VBO REPORT 2024
VBO collects detailed performance data of each official in their assigned roles at every event. We compile these data for use towards training requirements to further improve their performance.
We hope that 2025 will bring more opportunities for the boxers between partnering countries and jointly continue to improve the quality of our officials. Have a wonderful holiday season! See you all in 2025.
Sincerely,
Lim Song
President of Vietnam Boxing Organization
Bacolod's Genesis Servania will fight China's rising star Aketelieti Yelejian for the WBO Asia Lightweight title this November.
The highly-anticipated match up will take place on the undercard of the IBF world title fight between Pedro Taduran and Zhu DianXing at Jeju Island, South Korea.
Aketelieti Yelejian, who suffered a narrow loss to the Prince Albert Pagara in June, rebounded with an impressive IBF Asia victory against Korean Jin Su Kim in Vietnam recently. He is a very rangy and deceptive boxer known for his relaxed combinations, and he's supremely confident in his ability to take down Servania and claim the title.
"I've studied Servania's style, and I know I have the skills to outmaneuver him," Yelejian said yesterday.
"I'm excited to represent China on the international stage once more, and bring home an impressive win against a top and proven boxer like Genesis."
Servania, a seasoned veteran with a 35-4 record, boasts a reputation for toughness that has come from battles at the top level. And has still possesses some of the best body shots in the sport of boxing.
This important title shot gives the filipino the opportunity to re-establish himself on the world scene once more, and it's best remembered that his only defeats have came against world-ranked champions like Oscar Valdez and Andres Cortes.
But the China team have already confidently stated that Yelejian's youth, speed, height, and reach may all prove too much for the Filipino boxer.
Their optimism also exudes for the world title bout, where surprisingly, they are quite dismissive of Pedro Taduran's hopes of beating star Zhu DianXing. They actually rate their boxer so highly, they have predicted that the champion has no chance of retaining the belt.
These claims set up an intriguing backdrop for two massive Philippines v China feature bouts.
Fight Details :
- Date: Saturday, November 23rd
- Location: Jeju Island, South Korea
- Title: WBO Asia Lightweight
- Contenders: Aketelieti Yelejian (China) vs. Genesis Servania (Philippines)
