Thai camp awaits ABAP team
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 05 Mar 2021
Olympic qualifiers Eumir Marcial (L) and Irish Magno.
After a tedious process of finalizing travel arrangements, an ABAP team of 10 fighters is set to leave for training camp in Thailand this Wednesday and will stay about 1 1/2 months before possibly relocating to another country where a pre-Olympic tournament may be held. The contingent will not initially include Olympic middleweight qualifier Eumir Marcial, who's in L. A., and U.K.-based lightheavyweight John Marvin. Olympic women’s flyweight qualifier Irish Magno, Nesthy Petecio and
Carlo Paalam are in the delegation.
Because of the pandemic, visas are now required for travelers to enter Thailand even if they’re from Southeast Asia. It took about two months to obtain clearances from the Ministries of Health and Interior in Thailand then another two to three weeks for the Thai Embassy in Manila to issue visas. Marcial’s clearance documents were forwarded to the Thai consulate in L. A. but it’s not sure if he’ll join the camp in Thailand.
At the moment, only Marcial and Magno from the ABAP team are qualified for Tokyo but Petecio and Paalam should make it as the highest-ranked Asians available to book tickets since the world qualifiers were cancelled by the IOC Boxing Task Force. ABAP secretary-general Ed Picson said he’s not counting chickens before they’re hatched. The IOC will base who are the qualifiers from the updated standings and make an announcement any day from March 10 to 16. Since there are no competitions from now until then, the rankings shouldn’t change, meaning Petecio and Paalam will get their slots for Tokyo. Picson, however, said there are no guarantees until the tickets are formally awarded.
AIBA, meanwhile, is opposing the cancellation of the world qualifiers. AIBA president Umar Kremlev of Russia said the ranking system “does not take into account youth competitions as young boxers born in 2001-02 will be deprived of the chance to compete at the Games and fulfill their dream … a qualification tournament would be a more objective way to qualify for the Olympics.” But IOC may not be inclined to listen to AIBA particularly as IOC executive board member Nenad Lalovic of Serbia was chairman of the Olympic inquiry panel that decided to strip AIBA of Olympic recognition. Picson said it’s possible that once the ABAP team leaves for Thailand, the Tokyo-bound boxers may not return home until after the Olympics. “It will depend on the training we’re able to arrange,” he said. Marcial has been invited to join the Thai camp but he’s immersed in workouts in L. A. with Freddie Roach supervising his training. At some point, he’ll hook up with the ABAP team in Thailand or elsewhere.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joaquin Henson.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
0 MUST GO: SELDON JR. vs. POPPER — JUNE 13 AT THE TROP
Wed, 20 May 2026CARL “THE COBRA” FROCH REUNITES WITH ANDRE WARD ON ART OF WARD FOR FIRST IN-DEPTH SIT-DOWN SINCE THEIR LEGENDARY SUPER SIX FINAL
Wed, 20 May 2026BOXING LEGEND DARREN BARKER ANNOUNCES 'THE LONGEST ROUND' – A WORLD-FIRST ENDURANCE CHALLENGE FOR MEN'S MENTAL HEALTH
Wed, 20 May 2026IBA stands ready to organise Jon Jones professional boxing fight in Russia
Wed, 20 May 2026USA Boxing Elite High Performance Squad Earns Eight More Wins on Day Two at 2026 Copa America
Wed, 20 May 2026QC ends PCAP Season 6 All-Filipino conference campaign
By Marlon Bernardino, Wed, 20 May 2026It’s in the blood
By Joaquin Henson, Tue, 19 May 2026“The fans will be the true winners” – Angel Ayala ready for IBA PRO 18 in Mexico City
Tue, 19 May 2026Rematch option for Melvin
By Joaquin Henson, Tue, 19 May 2026World-class stablemates John ‘Scrappy’ Ramirez & Darius ‘DFG’ Fulghum fighting on same card Friday night in San Jose
Tue, 19 May 2026Ignacio Defeats Malayan to Claim Title and USD 10,000 Prize
By Marlon Bernardino, Tue, 19 May 2026USA Boxing Elite High Performance Squad Dominates Day One of 2026 Copa America with 11-0 Record
Tue, 19 May 2026Reina Tellez Returns to the Ring Following World Title Challenge Against Amanda Serrano
Mon, 18 May 2026Mombay, Garras top Helubong 50km Uphill Ultra Challenge
By Lito delos Reyes, Mon, 18 May 2026Arijan Goricki Knocks Out Hassan Ndonga in Nairobi
Mon, 18 May 2026