TOKYO. – Expecting to gain precious fight time after drawing a first-round bye, Eumir Marcial instead won a shortened bout against Algerian Younes Nemouchi via a referee-stopped-contest due to injury with 19 seconds left in the first round to advance to the quarterfinals of the middleweight boxing competitions of the Olympic Games at the Kokugikan Arena here.
Marcial was in control from the opening bell and immediately gave the Algerian a taste of his power, a right cross to the kisser that sent Nemouchi down, eliciting a standing-8 count from Slovakian referee Radoslav Simon.
“Dikit ‘yung laban namin. Pasok lang siya nang pasok. Right hook ko ang tumama sa kanya sa unang bagsak, pero sobrang tibay din ng kalaban. Ilang beses ko rin siyang tinamaan ng body shots, pero nandoon pa rin ‘yung fighting spirit niya na lalaban talaga siya,” said Marcial.
But Irish Magno failed to join Marcial in the quarterfinals after bowing to a crafty Thaifoe in Jutamas Jitpong in the women’s light-flyweight class.
Magno, who became the first casualty of the national boxing team here, failed to duplicate her win against the same opponent in the semifinals of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games as she fell to the Thai in a 5-0 unanimous decision loss that ended her Olympic dream, for now.
“Siyempre po nalulungkot po ako sa naging resulta. Ang Olympics po ay hindi basta-basta, lahat naghahanda dahil gustong makapag-kamit ng medalya, kaya ibinubuhos lahat. Sa akin po, tuloy-tuloy pa rin po. Hangga’t walang ginto, hindi po tayo susuko, tuloy lang ang laban,” said Magno, 25.
A silver medalist in the 2019 World Boxing Championship in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Marcial pressed on with several power shots to the head and body of the Algerianuntil the two clashed heads at the 1:10 mark, prompting the ring official to check the condition of Nemouchi, who suffered a slight gash above his right eye.
The fight, watched by Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez and Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, continued from there but was finally stopped with 19 seconds left when the referee deemed the Algerian can no longer continue with his injury.
“Masaya po ako siyempre sa pagkapanalo. Hindi pa ito ‘yung last fight, marami pang fights na darating. Kasama ‘yung mga coaches ko, paghahandaan pa po namin ‘yung mga susunod na laban,” said Marcial, crediting both his national team coaches Ronald Chavez, Gerson Nietes, Reynaldo Galido, Elmer Pamisa and Don Abnett, and pro mentor Freddie Roach, with whom he trained under at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.
Marcial tries to assure the Philippines of another bronze medal on Sunday against Armenian pro Arman Darchinyan, whom he has beaten in the 2018 AIBA World Championships.
“Nakalaban ko na po siya (Darchinyan) noong 2018 sa Russia, tinalo ko siya doon pero siyempre, itong Olympics talagang lahat naghanda para rito. Alam ko na handang-handa siya sa laban niya. Kaya ginawa ko lang kung ano ‘yung best ko,” said Marcial.
Darchinyan was impressive 15 minutes earlier as he mauled Slovakia’s Andrej Csemez5-0to set up a return match against the Filipino.
Also on Saturday, Carlo Paalam fights Algeria’s Mohamed Flissi at 10:48 a.m. (Philippine time), before Nestry Petecio shoots for a finals slot at 12:39 p.m. (Philippine time) against Italy’s Testa Irma.
“I am so happy that Marcial is back to his old form and with polished new moves he developed in the last three months that he trained with us. And I believe he will only get better because his mind and body are now fully focused. Also, he told us that Hidilyn’s victory inspired and motivated him even more. Welcome back, Eumir. We pray for your continued success, in the Olympics and beyond,” said boxing president Ricky Vargas.
