December pro debut a possibility for Olympic-gold hopeful Marcial

Eumir Marcial and Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach at Wild Card. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Eumir Marcial remains dead set on capturing the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medal in next year’s Tokyo Summer Games.

But that doesn’t mean the Filipino boxing prospect has forgotten about getting his campaign in the professional ranks going.

In fact, he’s keen on making his pro debut any time.

“[I can fight] even this week,” he said in Filipino during the PSA Forum.

Marcial arrived in Los Angeles on Oct. 12 for his Olympic and pro buildup and has since put in some serious work under the guidance of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, Justin Fortune and Marvin Somodio at Wild Card Gym.

The 25-year-old middleweight said he has had close to 15 sparring sessions since his arrival in the US, something that he would’ve had a hard time doing had he opted to stay and train back home.

MP (Manny Pacquiao) Promotions president Sean Gibbons still aims to give Marcial his first pro bout this month.

“Our focus is on Tokyo 2021 and winning the gold so, we haven’t really set a date for his pro debut. But we’re hoping we could squeeze in a fight this December,” Gibbons said.

“We want to focus more on the Olympics and perhaps get a couple of four or six-rounders. There’s a lot of time left because July (Tokyo) is the focus.”