A GOOD wrapping, a lot of ice after each fight or sparring session and a good rest and Eumir Felix Marcial is good to go for the Tokyo Olympics.
This was the authoritative opinion of renowned sports medicine expert Dr. Jose Raul Canlas when asked about Marcial’s on-and-off swelling and aching of his knuckles each time he fights or spars.
“There’s a split in the tendons at the knuckles due to strong punches,” said Canlas, also a member of the FIBA Medical Commission since 1994. “So to minimize the soreness and avoid possible injuries, you should protect your knuckles by wrapping it properly before training or in an actual fight and ice it after.”
Marcial, 25, has been fighting through pain in his hands at least for the past four years. But each time he did, he still came out smoking.
Marcial was in pain when he won a middleweight gold medal in the Kuala Lumpur 2017 Southeast Asian Games and at the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games where he settled for a bronze medal.
At the Olympic qualifier in Amman, Jordan, in February last year, his hands swelled and ached, and also after he disposed of American Andrew Whitfield in a four-rounder in his professional debut in Los Angeles last December.
There were no reports that Marcial experienced the same situation with his fists in the 2019 Philippines SEA Games.
Marcial will be flying to Dubai on Friday to test his readiness for the Olympics at the Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships. He received words of concern from his buddy, International Boxing Federation super flyweight boxer Jerwin Ancajas.
Ancajas advised Marcial to treat the Dubai tournament as a mere warmup for Tokyo so as not to risk his fists.
“The Tokyo Olympics are the most important for Eumir for now, he should not risk injuring his fists in Dubai,” Ancajas said.
Canlas, also the medical commission head of the Philippine Olympic Committee, has yet to take a look on Marcial’s hands, but said that he already encountered similar knuckle problems when he successfully treated Olympic silver medalist Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco after his campaign in Atlanta 1996.
“I was already with the Philippine Sports Commission in 1994. I remember Onyok after the Olympics,” said Canlas, also the United Philippine Surfing Association president. “I haven’t checked Marcial yet, but most probably the soreness is the result of training or after a fight.”
Renowned trainer Freddie Roach also consulted a doctor on Marcial’s fists when the Zamboanga City native trained for seven months at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles beginning last October.
MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons also said that Marcial only experienced soreness in his fists while in the US and is “1,000 percent good.”
“There was no injury but just soreness and it’s 1,000 percent good,” Gibbons said. “He has managed it for five years and that’s great.”
Marcial said he is entirely focused on the Olympics, which are set from July 23 to August 8.
“I am not afraid to fight. Even if I break my arms in the Olympics, I am very determined to capture the country’s first Olympic gold medal—whatever it takes,” Marcial told BusinessMirror.
“I also sacrificed two important professional bouts prepared by Sir [Sean] Gibbons early this year because I want to concentrate on the Dubai competition and the Olympics,” he added.
Marcial established his training camp in his hometown through Zamboanga MLV Valientes owner by Junnie Navarro.
“If I can win the gold in Dubai, why not? I will go for it,” Marcial said. “But my target is always the Olympics.”
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