Eumir reiterates commitment to win Olympic gold first

Everything is falling into place for Eumir Felix Marcial’s (left) pro plans and Olympic bid. —SHERWIN VARDELEON

Mega fights with boxing superstars Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez look sweet from where Eumir Felix Marcial is sitting. But he’s not getting ahead of himself.

There are a lot of things to smooth out before that. And MP Promotions is making sure Marcial’s pro career gets off without a hitch. For starters, there is his Olympic bid to focus on.

“The Olympics comes every four years and this may be the best chance I can get,” Marcial said during Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum online. “My professional career will be there after that.”

Marcial is one of four Filipinos who have already booked tickets to the postponed Tokyo Games, which will kick off—if ever—in July next year.

MP Promotions chief Sean Gibbons said the outfit of eight-division champion Sen. Manny Pacquiao will make Marcial’s dual goal a seamless one by working around his Olympic goals.

“We keep in line with what he’s doing [for the] Tokyo [Olympics], all the training he will do,” said Gibbons, who also participated in the forum’s webcast. “We adapt with whatever we wants.”

To better prepare for money bouts without sacrificing his Olympic preparations, Marcial hopes to include Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap) coaches Ronald Chavez and Don Abnett in his corner during pro fights.

“They know my style and they can help me more,” said Marcial, who joined Gibbons in the forum.

More than that, as Abap coaches, Chavez and Abnett can keep Marcial in top Olympic-style boxing shape.

Advice

Marcial has already received advice from former world youth champion and world champion Jerwin Ancajas on how preparing for the Olympics’ amateur rules and for pro fights are different.

“Champ Jerwin told me the importance of cover and the smaller gloves,” Marcial said, speaking in Filipino, referring to the importance of defense in the pros where speed, power and endurance matter.

Ancajas’ trainer, Joven Jimenez, said those were the first things they developed for the IBF junior bantamweight champ. “You can’t just throw punches in the pros,” Jimenez said.

Abap executive director Ed Picson, however, said Marcial’s plan to bring national team coaches with him during pro campaigns is something that needs to be worked out with the boxing association and the Philippine Sports Commission.INQ