Philippine boxing has found a new backer in Sampson Lewkowicz.
The 75-year-old Uruguayan-American promoter is now working to get top-rated super-featherweight Charly Suarez his much-deserved world title shot.
Lewkowicz, who runs Sampson Boxing with offices in Las Vegas and New York, recently signed Suarez. The Filipino has struggled to secure a rematch with World Boxing Organization 130-pound champion Emanuel Navarrete despite being the WBO’s mandatory challenger for a long time.
The controversy
Suarez was supposed to face Navarrete in a rematch last year after their first fight in May 2025 in San Diego, California.
In that bout, Suarez landed what should have been a fight-ending blow. He was denied the TKO win and the WBO belt after officials wrongly ruled it a butt. Navarrete was initially declared winner by technical decision.
The California State Athletic Commission later reviewed video replay and overturned it to a No-Contest. The WBO then ordered a rematch.
But Navarrete opted to fight fellow Mexican Eduardo Nunez, the IBF titleholder, in a unification instead.
Enter Sampson
About two months ago, Suarez and his chief trainer-manager Delfin Boholst met Lewkowicz while on vacation in Hawaii and the US mainland.
‘It’s not just family that keeps me going. It’s boxing. I continue to fight for the boxers.’
Boholst admitted he didn’t know who Lewkowicz was. But minutes into their meeting, he knew they’d found the right guy.
