Charly Suarez’s childhood dream seemed almost unobtainable entering the 12th round of his fight against Australia’s Paul Fleming two years ago in Sydney.

The undefeated Fleming led Suarez on all three scorecards, by at least three points according to each judge. Suarez, a full-time soldier in the Philippines Army, was running out of time to continue his march toward a junior lightweight world title shot.

That’s when Suarez uncorked a short left hook on the inside that sent Fleming to the canvas. Fleming answered referee Pat O’Connor’s count, but Suarez swarmed him and caused O’Connor to halt the action with 1:02 to go in the final round of their March 2023 bout at Kevin Betts Stadium.

“My corner said that I needed to knock him out,” Suarez told The Ring. “I waited for the chance to hit him with a hard punch. Once the opportunity came at that moment, that was it.”

The WBO eventually moved Suarez into the No. 1 position in its 130-pound rankings. He’ll get his mandated shot at WBO junior lightweight champ Emanuel Navarrete on Saturday night at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) is a 5-1 favorite according to DraftKings. Suarez (18-0, 10 KOs), who is unknown in the United States, had over 400 amateur matches, mostly during his 15 years as a member of the Filipino national team.

“He’s a good fighter,” Suarez said of Navarrete. “He has a big heart, he’s a volume puncher and a multi-division champion. But I’m excited to fight with him because I really trained a lot for this fight. It’s difficult to become number one to get this fight. We had a lot of struggles to become the WBO number one. The opportunity came to me, so it’s a blessing for me.”

Suarez is extremely motivated, especially after a meeting with Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao last month in Manila.

“I look up to him,” Suarez said. “We know that he’s a very popular person around the world. He’s the one who gave me motivation to be a world champion. It’s not only me – there’s a lot of boxers who idolize Manny Pacquiao, mostly Filipino boxers.”

The Manila resident arrived in the United States a few weeks ago to get championship-caliber sparring in Las Vegas. The 36-year-old Suarez usually trains after full shifts as a soldier in the Philippines, thus he feels more prepared than usual for the biggest fight of his six-year professional career.

“Because of my dream and my passion as a boxer, that’s why I pursue it,” Suarez replied when asked about training after working a full-time job. “I’m tired, as humans are, but because of my dream to be a world champion, that’s why I pursue it no matter what happens.”

ESPN will televise Navarrete-Suarez as the 12-round main event of a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. ET. Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-1, 12 KOs) and Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs), of Fontana, California, are set to fight for the IBF interim lightweight title in the 12-round co-feature before Suarez challenges Navarrete.

“I’m very excited,” Suarez said. “This is my dream from when I was a child. The opportunity came to me and my team, so I don’t want to lose it. For this fight, I will give my 100 percent to win it.”