Tokyo Olympics qualifier Eumir Felix Marcial won’t be turning professional in the near future.
The 24-year-old Marcial gave this assurance to Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines president Ricky Vargas.
Marcial was earlier approached by boxing promotions in the United States to sign up for two professional fights.
“Eumir gave me his word that he will wait for such face-to-face meeting before he makes a final decision. And I know Eumir to be a man of his word,” said Vargas following a video conference call with Marcial.
Vargas had earlier made an appeal for promoters to leave Marcial alone, and not to distract him with monetary offers while getting ready for the Olympics.
“I issued the appeal for people to allow Marcial some peace and quiet in these times and to stop plying him with tempting monetary offers which could distract him from his preparations for the Olympics. Having said that, I will again attempt to state my thoughts on the matter and this will be the last I will say about it until concrete developments arise,” said Vargas.
This includes Manny Pacquiao’s promotional outfit, which has two Filipino fighters in its stable.
The 5-foot-8 middleweight Marcial has impressive credentials, including gold medal wins in Southeast Asian Games and a silver medal victory in the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships.
Last March, Marcial earned Olympic berth following his stint in the Asia-Oceana Olympic qualifier.
“I think this is the best we can come up with at the present time and I again request everyone to refrain from speculation and making things more complicated than it already is. In conclusion, I want to make special mention of Senator Manny Pacquiao and thank him for being the voice of reason in all this,” said Vargas.
Marcial put away Abilkhan Amankul of Kazakhstan via a split decision victory during the qualifiers held in Amman, Jordan.
There are four Filipinos who will go to the Tokyo Olympics.
This includes fellow boxer Irish Magno, pole vaulter EJ Obiena and gymnast Carlos Yulo.