Eumir Marcial overpowered and outclassed his Thai opponent, Thoedsak Sinam, with a fourth round knockout.
Marcial dominated from the first round, connecting consecutive jabs, and became even more aggressive in the second round.
The Filipino dictated the fight and punished the Thai with numerous blows to the head and body. He delivered the finishing left uppercut that sent the Thai flat on the canvass.
Marcial was thrilled to score the devastating ring in front of the cheering Filipino fans. Fans crowded for pictures and autographs from the moment Marcial came out of the ring all the way to the locker room.
Marcial was all smiles and celebrated the win with his wife, his team and the Zamboanga Valientes MPBL team.
“‘Yan talaga plan namin. More jabs. ‘Yung left uppercut sinusubukan ko since second round. So I [maintained] the jab and darating rin ang uppercut. Naging successful,” he said.
Since winning the Sea Games gold in Manila in 2019, it has been a dream for Marcial to fight again in the Philippines.
“Sobrang grateful. Pagpasok ko pa lang ng ring, nakita ko lahat ng Pilipino. Sobrang saya and na-inspire ako na pagbutihin pa ang ensayo, para maging masaya ang kababayan. Salamat sa lahat ng dumating at sumusuporta. At thank you Sir Manny [Pacquiao], siya ang nagtulak nito,” he said.
Marcial’s wife Princess was just as thrilled with the win.
“Sobrang happy na nabunga ang sacrifice at paghihirap namin,” she said.
Marcial will rest for about five days and then head to Colorado, US with the rest of the Philippine boxing team to train for the Olympics in Paris, where he aims to win the gold in the 80-kilogram division.
“Nothing is impossible,” Marcial said. “I am asking God for his guidance always for every second in the ring.”
Marcial said he weighed about 81 kg for the fight on Saturday night, March 23. He added that he was comfortable with the weight gain for the Olympics since his usual 75 kg division is not offered in the Paris 2024 games.
“I’m comfortable and magaan ako, pero after the recovery ko, ‘yun talaga ang weight that I will fight in the Olympics,” he said.
Marcial thanked everybody who came to support him. (ABS-CBN News)