EUMIR FELIX MARCIAL’s wake-up call that came in the way of a stinging loss in Dubai last Friday has prompted the Tokyo Olympics-bound middleweight to return to the US to make the necessary adjustments he needed for the Games that are opening in 53 days.
The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap) said in a statement over the weekend that they are setting up Marcial for the USA Boxing training camp at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Sean Gibbons, president of MP Promotions that signed the 25-year-old Zamboangeno to a professional contract, on the other hand, told BusinessMirror that Marcial could momentarily return to the Wild Card Gym of renowned trainer Freddie Roach in Los Angeles and continue training there while awaiting Abap’s instructions.
“We have arranged for Marcial to participate in a multi-nation training camp in Colorado Springs, the home of Olympic boxing in the USA,” Abap President Ricky Vargas said in a statement over the weekend. “This is the milieu that he needs to be training under and USA Boxing is also graciously assisting us in getting visas for our three other Olympians and our coaches to the Colorado Springs camp.”
The three other Tokyo quali-fiers—Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Irish Magno—are in a training camp in Thailand.
Vargas said Abap coach Donald Abnett has drawn up a comprehensive 10-week program for the final push to the Olympics that are “attuned to the environment and platform in which the event will be staged.”
“We are happy that Marcial participated in Dubai under the aegis of Abap and has committed to train under our coaches’ mentorship in this crucial period,” Vargas said. “This will address the kind of challenge he will face in Tokyo.”
Marcial admitted he learned a lot from his loss in Dubai and vowed to come back stronger in the Olympics set from July 23 to August 8.
“I have to adjust and improve more on my way [of fighting], more on my tactics,” Marcial said. “In terms of stamina and power, I got it. I will do whatever I can to win the gold.”
Marcial lost to non-Olympic qualifier Jafarov Saidjamshid of Uzbekistan, 0-5, in the semifinals on Friday. He earned a bronze medal and a $2,500 cash prize as a consolation.
Marcial and three other Filipino boxers settled for bronze medals in the Asian Boxing Confederation Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships that wound up at the Le Meridien Hotel bubble in Dubai over the weekend.
Light flyweight Mark Lester Durens and bantamweight Junmilardo Ogayre bowed to top-ranked boxers in the semifinals, with Josie Gabuco fell victim to another Uzbek, young sensation Gulasal Sultonalieva, 4-1.
Marcial is expected to arrive in the US on Tuesday. He will no longer come home and instead will fly directly to Tokyo for the Olympics.
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