Abap finalizing England camp for PH boxers

MACAU—The Philippine national boxing team is stepping up its preparations ahead of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games that would be held in Manila.

Ed Picson, the secretary-general of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap), is in his final negotiations with the Great Britain Boxing Association that would see the Philippines train at England Institute of Sport.

National boxers from the two countries would be in the same training camp and Picson is just hashing out the required immigration papers for the team to travel to Sheffield in England.

“The British team is excited to have our team with them in the camp,” said Picson. “We’re just sorting out Visa issues.”

There’s also a sense of familiarity between the two countries since middleweight Eumir Marcial competed for the British Lionhearts in the World Series of Boxing and light heavyweight John Marvin is part of the British Army.

The camp in Sheffield would also be part of the Philippine team’s preparation for the coming Olympic qualifiers.

This development immediately followed Marcial’s silver medal finish in the Aiba World Boxing Championships that culminated Saturday in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

“Eumir showed a lot of determination and skill, and to be the number two in the world is a major achievement,” said Abap president Ricky Vargas.

“We’ll support him and our other worthy boxers in getting more intensive training on the road to the SEA Games and the Olympic qualifiers next year,” added Vargas.