In a sport that can be all about the connections, unbeaten super-featherweight challenger Charly Suarez has aligned with a veteran insider in his bid to land a rematch with newly unified champion Emanuel Navarrete.

The 37-year-old Suarez, 18-0 (10 KOs), announced Wednesday that he is now represented by promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, who is fast at work aiming to make Navarrete-Suarez II now that Navarrete promoter Top Rank has a new streaming deal in place with DAZN.

Lewkowicz has said he believes Navarrete-Suarez II can be one of the first main-event offerings in the new Top Rank-DAZN alliance, revisiting a May 10 battle in San Diego that closed in controversy.

In that first meeting, Mexico’s three-division champion Navarrete 40-2-1, (33 KOs), was first awarded a unanimous technical decision by scores of 77-76, 78-75, 77-76 after eight rounds when California State Athletic Commission officials couldn’t immediately conclude if a punch or accidental head butt caused a fight-ending cut over Navarrete’s eye.

Since the in-ring ruling was an accidental head butt, Navarette was declared the winner. Minutes later, a clearer ESPN replay emerged indicating the cut was caused by a Suarez punch, which should’ve made Suarez the winner.

The California commission later changed the outcome to a no-contest, and the WBO ordered a Navarrete-Suarez rematch.

Navarrete instead moved to a February 28 unification versus IBF champion Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez, winning an impressive unanimous decision in Glendale, Arizona, and saying afterward he was open either to the Suarez rematch or a shot at WBC 130lbs champion O’Shaquie Foster.

Former featherweight champion Raymond Ford is also reportedly interested in fighting Foster.

“That’s the plan. Great fight,” an official connected to Ford-Foster negotiations told BoxingScene Wednesday.

The disputed outcome of the first Navarrete-Suarez bout make it a compelling draw, as 2016 Olympian Suarez toiled in the Philippines, taking five fights there and Vietnam in 2022 before coming to the U.S. in 2023 and parlaying a 2024 TKO of Texas’ Jorge Castaneda to the title shot.

Lewkowicz will surely emphasize how Suarez gave a sterling account of himself versus Navarrete in toe-to-toe conflict, and Top Rank officials, who’ve long worked with the promoter, are warm to the idea of a rematch given how strongly Navarrete performed after easily making weight versus Nunez.

"This is an important step in my career as I continue my pursuit of a world title," Suarez said of joining forces with Lewkowicz. "I have worked my entire life for this moment... With Sampson's experience and commitment, I believe we have the right team to bring my career to the next level.

"My goal remains the same: To bring pride to the Philippines as a soldier and a world champion."