After putting his professional career on pause for his Paris Olympics training camp, Eumir Marcial is hell-bent on winning it all this time around.
Eumir Marcial has become the next hottest commodity in Philippine boxing, building up hype to become the next Manny Pacquiao.It’s easy to understand why.
At 28, he has already collected medals from various amateur competitions including the Southeast Asian Games, Asian games, and AIBA World Boxing Championships.
While the Lunzuran, Zamboanga City-bred pugilist transitioned to the pros in 2020, the 2011 junior world champion has continued to dabble in the amateur ranks and bring honor to the country in regional and world meets, including the Olympics.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist is not about to stop anytime soon, with a Paris 2024 conquest imminent.
But before getting ahead of ourselves, here’s a lookback on Marcial’s stellar journey to the Olympics:
2020-21 - Trying Times
It was the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Marcial was in Los Angeles hitting the ground running for the Tokyo Olympics when the tragic news came: his older brother Eliver died.
Carrying this burden of loss, he soldiered on. After all, his brother wanted him to win a medal in the sport’s grandest stage.
When the Tokyo Olympics came along, the hard-hitting Marcial played inspired boxing, making short work of his first two opponents.
It looked that way as well in the first two rounds of the middleweight semifinal bout against Oleksandr Khyzhniak.
It was a brawl in the first two rounds, with Marcial displaying speed and power against the top-seed fighter from Ukraine.
But Marcial simply ran out of gas in the third and final round, which Khyzhniak exploited on the way to the split decision.
Marcial settled for bronze.
2023 - Gracious in defeat
Marcial was coming off an injury and is fighting in a new weight class (light heavyweight). But at this point, he was already the favorite to win it all in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
It didn’t happen.
In the way was hometown hero Tuohetaerbieke Tanglatihan, who ended up capturing the gold in the men’s 80kg finale.
While many felt Marcial should have won after a masterful display of power and wits, the Southpaw fighter from the far south was gracious in defeat.
It helped that by advancing to the gold medal match, he already qualified for Paris 2024.
2024 - Perfect Sendoff
Before focusing on his preparations for the Olympics, Marcial gave his fellow Filipinos a show.
The 5-foot-10 fighter scored a sensational knockout against Thai foe Thoedsak Sinam in their super middleweight bout at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Though it looked more like a four-round sparring, it turned out to be the perfect sendoff for the Olympic-bound Filipino.
[RELATED STORY: Paris-bound Eumir Marcial scores sensational KO in Manila pro debut]
Shortly after the fight that raised his professional record to 5-0, Marcial flew to Colorado, USA where he spent most of his training camp for the Summer Games.
Much is expected now from the Filipino champion after his stellar play both in the amateur ranks. Perhaps a gold medal finish in Paris will be the icing on the cake before he completely shifts his focus on his professional bouts again.
Story summary:
At 28, Eumir Marcial has become a major figure in Philippine boxing, earning medals in various amateur competitions, including the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games, and AIBA World Boxing Championships. Despite turning professional in 2020, he continues to compete in amateur events and represented the Philippines in the Tokyo Olympics, where he won a bronze medal.Marcial faced personal tragedy during the COVID-19 pandemic with the death of his brother, yet he persevered to win a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. In 2023, while recovering from an injury and competing in a new weight class, he reached the finals in the Asian Games but lost to Tuohetaerbieke Tanglatihan, though this performance secured his qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics.As a preparation for the upcoming Olympics, Marcial delivered a knockout performance against Thai opponent Thoedsak Sinam, enhancing his professional record to 5-0. He is now training in Colorado, USA, with high expectations for a potential gold medal finish in Paris, which could mark a significant milestone before fully focusing on his professional career.
[Editor's note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital team. The summary was generated by AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]