FILE – The Philippines’ Eumir Felix Marcial celebrates after knocking out Vietnam’s Nguyen Manh Cuong to claim the gold medal in the men’s middleweight event of the 30th Southeast Asian Games. INQUIRER PHOTO/ Sherwin Vardeleon
MANILA, Philippines — Eumir Marcial has accomplished almost everything an amateur boxer can achieve, with an Olympic medal the lone exception.
And as celebrated as he is now as an amateur, Marcial, according to IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas, also has what it takes to be a decorated fighter in the pros.
“I’m a hundred percent certain that Eumir will become a world champion,” said Ancajas in Filipino in a Zoom interview with Inquirer.
“We always talk and before he turned pro he asked me for advice and I told him that he’s already got the discipline and he’s always received quality guidance from the Lord. He’s got the skills and the strength already.”
And those qualities have already propelled the Filipino middleweight to three gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games, a silver in the Aiba World Championships, and a gold in the 2020 Asia & Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament.
The 24-year-old Marcial decided to officially turn pro this year when he signed a contract with Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions last month. Though, he remains focused on his goal o bring home an Olympic gold.
Ancajas, who fought nearly a hundred fights as an amateur, joked that he should be the one getting advice from Marcial who’s an official Olympian.
“I don’t think I should be the one to give him advice because he’s an Olympian,” joked Ancajas.
“But as a pro, all I can tell him is focus on being a great boxer. There’s a lot of politics involved in the sport so he just has to focus on the boxing aspect and let the promoters and matchmakers focus on the plans outside the ring.”