Focused Eumir Marcial eyes to impress in pro return

Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Felix Marcial, right, with his new trainer Jorge Capetillo during a break in their training camp in Las Vegas. Photo from Eumir Marcial

MANILA, Philippines—Unsatisfied despite scoring a win in his professional debut, Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Felix Marcial assures he is all set to do better come his second pro fight.

The 26-year-old Marcial will climb the ring once more Sunday morning (Manila time) when he battles nine-fight veteran Isiah Hart in a four-round battle in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Marcial scored a unanimous decision win over another American Andrew Whitfield in a middleweight encounter last December 2020 in Los Angeles, winning all four rounds on all three scorecards in his introduction to the pro ranks.

In preparation for Whitfield, Marcial had to deal with numerous personal issues, the biggest of which was the untimely death of his older brother Eliver.

“Less than two months before my fight, I wasn’t able to get much sleep because I was monitoring the situation with my family every night. The COVID pandemic also limited what I could do at that time,” said Marcial in Filipino.

Marcial’s victory over Whitfield happened nine months after winning the gold medal at the 2020 Asia and Oceania Olympic qualifiers in Amman, Jordan where the Zamboanga City-native officially earned a slot in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Marcial’s bout against Hart (6-2-1, 4 knockouts), to be held at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, will happen seven months after his Olympic campaign in Tokyo, Japan.

“I’ve changed a lot now because I was able to have complete sparring. Having a new training team especially with coach Memo (Heredia) who’s very professional in handling my program also did wonders for me.”

During the official weigh-in on Saturday, Marcial came in at 160.2 pounds while Hart tallied 161.8.

After being under the guidance of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach in preparing for Whitfield, Marcial tapped the services of another veteran cornerman in Jorge Capetillo for his bout against Hart.

“He was really on me full-time. He was there during my training from start to finish. Even on my morning run where I don’t really need him he still goes there,” added Marcial.

Capetillo rose to prominence as trainer of the charismatic British boxer Tyson Fury, the current Ring Magazine and WBC world heavyweight champion.

Marcial’s upcoming bout is on the undercard of the 12-round WBC interim super welterweight title fight between Erickson Lubin and Sebastian Fundora.

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