Philippine Army soldier athletes accorded a warm welcome to Pfc. Charly Suarez upon his arrival on March 20, five days after defeating Australian boxer Paul Fleming in a super featherweight bout in Sydney. Photo courtesy of the Special Service Center, Installation Management Command, Philippine Army.
MANILA -- Charly Suarez made a triumphant return to Manila on Monday, five days after recording a hard-earned victory over Australia's Paul Fleming at the Kevin Betts Stadium in Sydney.
Private First Class Suarez was given a warm welcome by soldier-athletes in NAIA upon his return. The 34-year-old earned a stoppage victory over Fleming to remain unbeaten in his professional career (15-0, 9 KOs).
It was a battle of unbeaten fighters but only Suarez emerged unscathed, as he knocked down Fleming in the 12th round before the bout was waved off by the referee. Fleming dropped to a 28-1-1 record with 18 KOs in his career.
According to RingTV, Suarez was behind on all of the judges' scorecards in the 12th round before he took matters into his own hands and won via TKO.
With the win, Suarez claimed the IBF, WBA, WBC, and IBO regional super-featherweight belts, while also putting him in line for a bout against IBO super-featherweight champion Anthony Cacace.