THE Zamboanga City government may have to make room for another monument at the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex in the event hometown boxing pride Felix Eumir Marcial wins a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympic Games.
“We are preparing for that eventuality. Eumir deserves the same recognition as much as Hidylin Diaz if he wins an Olympic gold medal,” Zamboanga City councilor and sportsman Elbert Atilano said yesterday after the city council approved a statue to be built in honor of Diaz, the country’s first Olympic gold medalist.
Born to a humble family in a crowded neighborhood in Barangay Mampang, Diaz ended the country’s 97-year wait for the precious mint by ruling the women’s 55kg weightlifting division of the Tokyo Games last July 26.
Marcial is on track to duplicate Diaz’s feat by knocking out Armenian Arman Darchinyan in the second round last Sunday in their middleweight quarterfinals and faces Ukrainian Oleksandr Khyzniak in the semis today for a spot in the finals this Saturday.
A former world and European champion, Khyzniak is the No. 1 seed in the division and once beat the Pinoy boxer, who was disqualified when they met in the semis of the Strandja Memorial boxing tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2019.
Atilano, the Universidad de Zambonga athletic director when Marcial started training at the school’s gym in his younger years, expressed confidence the boxer could turn the tables on his fancied foe, judging by his impressive form in his last two fights.
“Eumir has been smart and aggressive and obviously is at his peak so anything can happen,” said Atilano, adding the fighter will also receive P2.5 million from the city like Diaz should he bring home the gold.
He said that he last talked to Diaz, who has been his protégé since she was 10 years old, last week and asked how she was doing.
“Tinanong ko kung kamusta, siya tapos umiyak. Pero nakangiti na ng tinanong ko kung kalian ‘yung kasal,” said Atilano, referring to when the wedding bells will ring for the weightlifter and her boyfriend, Guamanian fitness coach Julius Naranjo, who was with her in her training camp in Malaysia and at the games in Tokyo.
