Tokyo—Let this be a warning to all middleweight boxing contenders at the Summer Olympic Games here—Eumir Marcial packs a wallop.
“He is more powerful now,” said the Philippine Boxing Team’s Olympic Head Coach Don Abnett after Marcial won a shortened bout against Algerian Younes Nemouchi via a Referee Stopped Contest due to Injury (RSC-I) at 19 seconds of the first round to advance to the quarterfinals of the 69-75kg boxing competition at the Kokugikan Arena.
In control of the match from the opening bell, the middleweight Marcial immediately gave the Algerian a taste of his power as he unleashed a right cross to the kisser, sending Nemouchi down and eliciting a standing-8 count from Slovakian referee Radoslav Simon.
“Dikit ‘yung laban namin. Pasok lang siya nang pasok. Right hook ko ang tumama sa kanya sa unang bagsak, pero sobrang tibay din ng kalaban. Ilang beses ko rin siyang tinamaan ng body shots, pero nandoon pa rin ‘yung fighting spirit niya na lalaban talaga siya,” said Marcial.
A silver medalist in the 2019 World Boxing Championship in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Marcial continued to press on with several powershots to the head and body of the Algerian, until the two clashed heads in the final 1:10, prompting the ring official to check the condition of Nemouchi, who suffered a slight gash above his right eye.
The fight, watched by both Philippine Sports Commission chairman William Ramirez and Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham Tolentino, continued from there, but was finally stopped with 19 seconds left when the referee deemed the Algerian can no longer continue with his injury.
“It is what it is, but there was no doubt, Marcial was hurting the boy out there,” said Abnett of the abbreviated game.
Marcial will try to assure the Philippines of another bronze medal on Sunday against Armenian pro Arman Darchinyan, who he has already beaten in the 2018 AIBA World Championships.
“Nakalaban ko na po siya (Darchinyan) noong 2018 sa Russia, tinalo ko siya doon pero siyempre, itong Olympics talagang lahat naghanda para rito. Alam ko na handang-handa siya sa laban niya. Kaya gagawin ko lang kung ano ‘yung best ko,” said Marcial of his next foe, who was as impressive 15 minutes earlier as he mauled Slovakia’s Andrej Csemez, 5-0, to set up a return match against the Filipino.
“Masaya po ako siyempre sa pagkapanalo. Hindi pa ito ‘yung last fight, marami pang fights na darating. Kasama ‘yung mga coaches ko, paghahandaan pa po namin ‘yung mga susunod na laban,” added Marcial, crediting both his national team coaches Ronald Chavez, Gerson Nietes, Reynaldo Galido, Elmer Pamisa, and Abnett, and pro mentor Freddie Roach, with whom he trained under at his Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.
Marcial’s top physical condition here was a result of his pro training under Roach and an intense training camp in Colorado, under Nietes and Chavez.
“The fight underscored the great conditioning, excellent tactics and overall preparation Eumir underwent the last three months before Tokyo. Coach Nietes, who first trained him at the USA Olympic Boxing Center in Colorado Springs before they were joined by Men’s Head Coach Chavez, worked doubly hard to mold Marcial to this deliberate, calculating and powerful style as envisioned by our Olympic Head Coach Abnett. It was he who developed the training programs of both the men and women and daily monitored developments in Marcial’s training from our other camp in Thailand,” said Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines boxing secretary general Ed Picson.
“I am so happy that Marcial is back to his old form and with polished new moves he developed in the last three months that he trained with us. And I believe he will only get better because his mind and body are now fully focused. Also, he told us that his kababayan Hidilyn (Diaz)’s victory inspired and motivated him even more. Welcome back, Eumir. We pray for your continued success, in the Olympics and beyond,” said boxing president Ricky Vargas.
Meanwhile, the hot streak of the Filipino boxers ended when Irish Magno bowed to a crafty Thailand foe in Jutamas Jitpong in the women’s 48-51kg division.
Magno could not duplicate her win against the same opponent in the semifinals of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games as she fell to the Thai in a 5-0 unanimous decision loss that ended her Olympic dream, for now.