Feeling he came up short despite scoring a win in his initial professional boxing foray, Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Felix Marcial assures he is all set to do better in his second pro fight.
The 26-year-old Marcial will climb the ring once more Sunday morning (Manila time) when he battles nine-fight veteran Isiah Hart in a four-round battle in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Marcial scored a unanimous decision win over another American Andrew Whitfield in a middleweight encounter last December 2020 in Los Angeles, winning all four rounds on all three scorecards in this fight which served as his pro debut.
In preparing for Whitfield, Marcial had to deal with numerous personal issues, the biggest of which was the untimely death of his older brother Eliver.
“Less than two months na lang laban ko that time, lagi ako puyat kasi naka-monitor ako gabi-gabi sa family ko. ‘Yung COVID din masyado pa mahigpit noon kaya hindi din makakilos ng maayos,” said Marcial.
Marcial’s victory over Whitfield happened nine months after winning a gold during the 2020 Asia and Oceania Olympic in Amman, Jordan, where the Zamboanga City-native pugilist officially earned a slot in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Marcial’s fight against Hart (6-2-1, 4 knockouts), to be held at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, will happen seven months after his Olympic campaign in Tokyo, Japan.
“Malaki pagkakaiba ngayon kasi kumpleto sparring ko. Maganda din epekto ng bagong training team ko lalo na si (Conditioning) coach Memo (Heredia) na napaka-professional talaga sa pag-handle ng program ko,” said Marcial.
During Saturday’s weigh-in, Marcial came in at 160.2 lbs. while Hart tallied 161.8. After being under the guidance of Freddie Roach in preparing for Whitfield, Marcial tapped the services of another veteran guru Jorge Capetillo for his bout against Hart. “Talagang fulltime siya sa akin.
Pag time na ng training ko, sa akin siya from start to finish. Even sa morning run ko kahit hindi naman siya kailangan doon, pinupuntahan niya pa din ako,” added Marcial.
Capetillo rose to prominence as trainer of the charismatic British boxer Tyson Fury, the current Ring Magazine and WBC world Heavyweight champion.
Marcial’s upcoming bout will happen as one of the supporting bouts of the 12-round WBC interim super welterweight title fight between Erickson Lubin and Sebastian Fundora.