Charly Suarez gains boxing finals berth

ALMATY, Kazakhstan—Former World Series of Boxing (WSB) standout Charly Suarez eliminated Otdondalai of Mongolia with relative ease Friday to reach the flyweight championship round of the fourth Kazakhstan President’s Cup here.

Fans who crowded the Baluak Sholan Palace of Culture and Sports gave Suarez a rousing ovation as he stamped his class on the game Mongolian for a split decision win.

One of the judges, a Kazakh from the Shymkent region, gave the fight to Otdondalai, 30-27, but the two other judges favored Suarez with scores of 30-27 and 29-28.

“I just did what I had to do because I was preparing for the big fight on Sunday,” said Suarez. “But I don’t understand that score. Still, a win is a win.”

Charly Suarez’s finals opponent is Berik Abdrakhmanov of Kazakhstan.

On Saturday, Rey Saludar tries to duplicate Suarez’s feat as he faces Ilyas Suleimenov of Kazakhstan in their own semifinal match in the flyweight class.

The two boxers had met twice before and their head-to-head count is 1-1.

The Kazakh was in the London Olympics but did not have a podium finish.

The PLDT-Abap participation here is part of the final selection process for the Asian Games. Another batch of boxers leave on Sunday for the China Open in Guiyang, China.