EUMIR FELIX MARCIAL hit the beach in Ternate a day after arriving from Los Angeles and shaking off jet lag while under quarantine on Wednesday.
Signs that the gold medal prospect at the postponed Tokyo Olympics missed home.
“After my quarantine time here, I will fly immediately to Zamboanga to see my parents and visit my brother’s grave,” Marcial told BusinessMirror as he dried himself from sea water, a luxury he didn’t have during his six-month training at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.
“It’s more than a year that I haven’t been there,” added Marcial, who never got to visit home because of travel restrictions in pandemic 2020.
Marcial and International Boxing Federation super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas flew in via Philippine Airlines unannounced on Tuesday. They headed straight to the Philippine Marine Base in Cavite where they—along with trainer and manager Joven Jimenez and sparring partner Jonas Sultan—will be quarantined for six days.
The four, who completed two doses of Pfizer anti-Covid-19 shots in Las Vegas, were very thankful to the Philippine Navy for accommodating them at the Ternate facility. Marcial is also in the military holding the rank of Airman First Class in the Air Force.
Marcial, 25, couldn’t attend the wake of his eldest brother, Eliver, 39, who died of stroke last October, a few days after his arrival in the US to jumpstart his pro career and train under Roach for Tokyo.
He also clarified that his 71-year-old father Eulalio is not sick.
“I missed Tatay and Nanay [Carmelita], that’s why I decided to come home,” he said. “And of course, my girlfriend [Princess Jenniel Cabradilla Galarpe].”
Marcial said that he has gotten in touch with the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap) and sought for a coach to monitor his training.
“We’ll set up a training camp in Zamboanga [Barangay Lunzuran] and hopefully one of my coaches at ABAP could join me,” he said.
Marcial said that there are no plans yet for him returning to the Wild Card Gym although he dismissed the possibility of him joining his national teammates—especially fellow Olympic qualifiers Irish Magno, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam—in the training camp in Thailand.
“So far there’s no decision yet if we’ll go back to the US. But all my hard work, what I learned from there won’t go to waste,” said Marcial, who thanked Senator Manny Pacquiao, Premier Boxing Champions, Sean Gibbons and Roach for treating him well in the US.
“They provided me everything,” he said.
Marcial also stressed his desire to participate in the Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships set from May 21 to 31 in New Delhi despite the alarming race of Covid-19 infection in India.
“If I have to spend on my own to fight in New Delhi, I will,” he said. “That tournament is very important for my Olympic preparations. I only fought once the last year, while my potential opponents in Tokyo have fought at least four times already.”
The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) declined to fund the national team’s stint in New Delhi because of the enourmous infections India has been recording every day. Instead, the PSC agreed to extend its assistance to the team’s training camp in Thailand.
Marcial fought as a pro last December 16 in Los Angeles, beating American Andrew Whitfield in a four-rounder via unanimous decision.
Image courtesy of Princess Jenniel Cabradilla Galarpe