Eumir Felix Marcial is shifting his focus to the Paris Olympics after knocking out Thailand’s Thoedsak Sinam during his homecoming fight as a professional boxer at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Saturday night.
Marcial finished off the Thai at the 1:33 mark of the fourth roundwith a vicious left uppercut that knocked Sinam out even before he hit the canvas.
The 28-year-old Tokyo Games bronze medalist raised both his arms in triumph as the referee counted out the Thai (23-14, 19 KOs).
Marcial, who fights under MP Promotions, improved his record to 5-0with three knockouts in his final professional fight before focusing all of his energies on the Olympics in Paris this August.
Marcial will be joining the national team camp at the US Olympic Training Center in Denver, Colorado in early April and travel with them to Thailand for a similar camp, where the final Olympic qualifying tournament will also be held in Bangkok.
Marcial won an Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo two years ago as a middleweight but will now campaign as a light-heavyweight(super-middle weight) in Paris.
The bout against Sinam was the first for Marcial on Philippine soil since he bagged the middleweight gold in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in Manila.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Richard Bachmann, Philippine Olympic Committee President Bambol Tolentino, Senator Francis Tolentino, Games and Amusement Board Chairman Richard Clarin, boxing supporter and basketball team owner Junnie Navarro, MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons, and former world champions Marlon Tapales and Jerwin Ancajas were among the sports personalities who graced the 10-fight card that was open to the public.