Eumir seeks fourth SEA Games gold
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 07 Oct 2021
Marcial.
Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Marcial said yesterday he plans to fight for a fourth SEA Games gold in Vietnam in May but it won’t mean derailing his campaign in the pro ranks.
Marcial said his next pro bout could be in a proposed card on Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s 43rd birthday on Dec. 17 but if IATF restrictions persist, he’ll prepare for another engagement in the US. Nothing is certain at the moment and the only thing that’s final is Marcial’s wedding date with long-time girlfriend Princess Galarpe at Pico de Loro, Batangas, on Oct. 28. The day after the wedding, Marcial will turn 26.
Marcial turned pro in Los Angeles in December last year, scoring a unanimous four-round decision over Andrew Whitfield. Then, he went to Tokyo and bagged the Olympic bronze medal, blasting Algeria’s Younes Nemouchi and Armenia’s Arman Darchinyan before losing a 3-2 split decision to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Khyzhniak in the semis.
ABAP secretary-general Ed Picson said there are no rules barring fighters to switch from pro to amateur and back, even multiple times. An example is 2016 Olympian Charly Suarez who fought thrice as a pro before bagging a gold medal at the SEA Games in 2019. He returned to the pro ranks then prepared to fight in the Olympic qualifiers in Paris last June. The qualifiers, however, were cancelled due to the pandemic and Suarez, a three-time SEA Games gold medalist, lost a chance for a second Olympic appearance. Suarez, 33, has since gone back to the pros, now boasting an 8-0 record, with six KOs. Picson said Suarez is welcome to try out for a spot on the national team competing in the next SEA Games.
“When Charly rejoined the national team in 2019, we reinstated him and brought back his allowance from PSC,” said Picson. “He trained with us starting in October, stayed with the team at our quarters. But as soon as he reverted to pro, we took him out of the PSC rolls again. We’ll bring him back if he rejoins us for the SEA Games.”
Marcial said if the Pacquiao card doesn’t push through, he’ll likely fly to LA, resume training at the Wild Card Gym and spend the holidays abroad. Marcial also said he could do a second pro fight in the US in January or February. “Magandang preparasyon para sa SEA Games,” he said.
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