Charly Suarez (left) and Luis Coria. | Facebook photos
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Charly “King’s Warrior” Suarez had to change his game plan ahead of his April 13 bout in the United States following a last minute change in his opponent.
The unbeaten Suarez was initially scheduled to fight Puerto Rican Henry Lebron for a 10-rounder bout in Corpus Christi, Texas.
However, a new development forced Suarez to change his game plan after Lebron withdrew from the fight roughly three weeks ago.
READ: Suarez fights Lebron in Texas in April
Suarez and his team, who arrived in Las Vegas last month, were informed about Lebron’s sudden withdrawal without proper reason.
Still, Suarez and his coach Delfin Boholst continued to train at the Knuckeheads Boxing Gym in Las Vegas owned by MP Promotions chief Sean Gibbons.
READ: Suarez stakes unbeaten record in US debut on Aug. 26
Lebron’s replacement
He was then informed that American Luis Coria will be Lebron’s replacement.
The 25-year-old Coria, an American from Moreno Valley, California, sports a record of 15 wins with six losses and seven knockouts.
READ: Suarez barges into WBO’s latest Jr. lightweight’s Top 10 world rankings
He is gunning for a comeback following a loss to Omar Salcedo Gamez of Mexico last December in Houston, Texas. Before losing to Gamez, Coria was on a three-fight winning streak against Mexican opponents.
Coria has been known to be trained and mentored by famed Mexican trainer Robert Garcia and Mikey Garcia.
READ: Suarez makes weight, set to fight Dominican Republic’s Vasquez in Oklahoma
More experienced record
Meanwhile, Suarez who is ranked No. 5 in the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super featherweight division is coming from a unanimous decision victory against Dominican Republic’s Yohan Vasquez last August in the former’s United States debut.
Suarez has a slightly more experienced record of 16 wins with nine knockouts. He once held three regional titles which he won in a single bout.
The 35-year-old Suarez, a former amateur standout won the IBF Inter-Continental, IBO Inter-Continental, and WBC Asian super featherweight titles, which he wrested from Australian Paul Fleming via a sensational 12th round technical knockout in Sydney, Australia in 2023.
Suarez and Coria’s bout is promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank and commissioned by the Texas Combative Sports Program.
A total of 10 bouts are lined-up for the April 13 fight card.