Charly Suarez wins by knockout over Jorge Castañeda to secure the WBO International super featherweight title in Arizona, USA.–TOP RANK PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Undefeated Filipino Charly Suarez flaunted his punching power on his way to another impressive victory on Saturday (Manila time).
Just a little over a month after turning 36 years old, Suarez scored a third-round stoppage over American Jorge Castaneda at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, USA.
Suarez decked Castaneda, a late replacement, twice in the third–both off left hooks to claim the WBO international super featherweight title.
READ: Charly Suarez faces unbeaten Andres Cortes with eye on title shot
With Castañeda still finding his balance after the first knockdown, Suarez closed the show with a flurry to hike his record to 18-0, with 10 knockouts.
The bout was part of the undercard of the Jaime Munguia vs Erik Bazinyan main event.
Suarez was originally slated to fight Andres Cortes in a title eliminator. Cortes, a highly-rated fighter with a 22-0 record, was forced to pull out of the bout after sustaining an injury during training.
The Sawata, Davao del Norte native turned professional in 2019 after a decorated amateur career.
Suarez represented the Philippines at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He also won a silver medal at the Asian Games in 2014 and bagged gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games in 2009, 2011 and 2019.
READ: Charly Suarez defends WBA Asia belt, decisions Mark Yap
Meanwhile, Filipino-American DJ Zamora III remained unblemished after outclassing Argentina’s Gerardo Antonio Perez in a super featherweight eight-rounder.
The 21-year-old Zamora, born to a Filipino father Demler and African-American mother Tyesha, put on a boxing clinic en route to a unanimous decision win. Two judges scored it 80-72 while the other had it 79-73.
“Blessed to get another victory last night!” Zamora (14-0, 9KOs), who hails from Las Vegas, Nevada, posted on Instagram.
“Representing for my Filipino Heritage!🇵🇭” he said in another post a week before the fight.