Eumir Marcial expected to join national team in Thailand camp

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

MANILA, Philippines — Pugilist Eumir Marcial is set to join the Philippine national boxing team in their upcoming camp in Thailand, the country’s governing body for the sport bared.

Ricky Vargas, the president of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines, said that Marcial will rejoin the team as they expand their preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.

Marcial is in the United States training under Freddie Roach’s tutelage at Wild Card Gym as a professional. The Filipino middleweight made his pro debut last December, beating Andrew Whitfield via unanimous decision.

“We explained to him also the kind of training program that we want him to undergo. Our coaches have seen his fights, his professional fights. They’ve also seen who his competition will be in the Olympics,” said Vargas in an interview with The Chasedown.

“We’ve assured him that we will fly him from Los Angeles all the way to Thailand. Just let us know, we’ll provide you the ticket, we’ll bring you there.”

Marcial, though, will still have to get permission from his management Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions before he could join the national team.

The middleweight prospect is under a six-year contract with Pacquiao’s agency.

The Philippine national boxing team is training at Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna but will fly to Thailand at the end of the month.

“He has a responsibility, a contract, so he said that he’ll ask permission from his manager if he can join the team,” said Vargas in Filipino.