Charly Suarez has seen the heights that promoter Sampson Lewkowicz has brought other Filipino fighters to. He hopes Lewkowicz can do the same for him, too.

The unbeaten Filipino contender has signed with Lewkowicz and will face Manuel Avila on July 11. The fight, which Suarez’s team says will have a regional WBO belt at stake, will be part of the outdoor fight card at San Francisco Civic Center which promoter Lewkowicz and UK financier Ed Pereira hope will draw a record-breaking crowd of 100,000 spectators.

The contest will be an “activity fight” to keep Suarez active in the WBO rankings at 130lbs ahead of his mandatory title rematch with Emanuel Navarrete, which Suarez’s manager/trainer Delfin Boholst says is targeted for September or October.

First he must get past Avila, 25-2-1 (9 KOs). The 34-year-old Avila, who has fought primarily as a featherweight and junior featherweight, last fought in 2023, stopping Alberto Torres. His highest profile bouts were in his two defeats, when he was stopped in six by Joet Gonzalez in 2019 and lost a unanimous decision to Joseph Diaz Jnr in 2017.

“I’ve seen him fight on YouTube and he is a good boxer. This is a good fight and I’m excited for this fight,” Suarez, 18-0 (10 KOs), told BoxingScene ahead of Thursday’s press conference in San Francisco.

“This is a good opportunity for Team Suarez because Charly is becoming more and more recognized, especially here in the U.S.,” added Boholst.

Lewkowicz, a native of Uruguay who now makes his home in Las Vegas, has a long history of uncovering overlooked talents abroad, particularly in the Philippines. Lewkowicz is credited with discovering Manny Pacquiao before major U.S. promoters were willing to take a gamble on an unknown Filipino fighter, and led other Filipinos like Johnriel Casimero and Marvin Sonsona to world titles.

“I believe that he can help me to become a world champion,” said Suarez of Lewkowicz.

“Charly's new promoter has a good plan,” said Boholst. “What I hope is that we can show the new version of Charly that can't be shown like that. We know that Charly is hungry to become a world champion, so we will perform here in the match on July 11.”

Suarez last fought in May of 2025, meeting Emanuel Navarrete in a controversial fight for the WBO junior lightweight title. Navarrete was originally declared the winner by unanimous technical decision, but the fight was changed to a no contest when video conclusively showed that the cut that led referee Edward Collantes to stop the fight was caused by a punch and not a headbutt. Navarrete, 40-2-1 (33 KOs), returned to the ring in February, stopping Eduardo Nunez in a fight that unified his WBO title with the IBF belt, meaning that Suarez will have the opportunity to pick up two belts when his mandatory title opportunity occurs.

Suarez will train for the Avila fight at the Split-T Boxing Club in Paradise, Nevada.