'Active rest' for Suarez

There’s no stopping Charly Suarez’ bandwagon as the newly crowned WBO International super featherweight champion will take a brief “active rest” before returning to the gym.

- JOEY VILLAR

Last Friday night (Saturday morning, Manila time), Suarez dropped Jorge Castaneda twice, prompting referee Chris Flores to halt the carnage at 2:22 of the third round in Glendale, Arizona. He’ll be back home with coach Delfin Boholst on Thursday.

Castaneda was a late replacement for Andres Cortes who pulled out, claiming a low blood pressure condition, two weeks before the bout. The switch threw off Suarez’ preparations as Cortes is 5-7 with a 65-inch reach while Castaneda is 5-10 with a 70-inch wingspan. But he wasn’t worried. Henry Lebron also withdrew from fighting Suarez last April and was replaced by Luis Coria.

“Sabi ng Top Rank, pwede ako mag-back out kasi late replacement at distraction sa akin,” said Suarez. “Ako naman, kahit sino basta may belt na nakataya at hindi non-title. Sanay ako sa