AMMAN, Jordan – Middleweight Eumir Felix Marcial once again validated his reputation as a formidable boxer Thursday noon here as he completely dominated his Australian oppponent Kirra Ruston 5-0 in their preliminaries bout on the third day of competitions in the Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Prince Hameh Hall here.
Philippines’ Eumir Felix Marcial (red) during the 30th Southeast Asian Games. (MB File Photo)
“ Ito ang matagal nang pangarap namin ng tatay ko, ang makapunta sa Olympics. Hindi ko na pakakawalan ito,“ said the muscular Air Force man from Zamboanga.
Filipino boxer Eumir Felix Marcial celebrates after a 5-0 win against Australian oppponent Kirra Ruston. (Handout photo)
As the No. 1 1 seed in the middleweight division, he had a bye on the first round and with this win, enters the quarterfinals on Sunday.
He next faces Byamba Erdene-Otgonbaatar of Mongolia, a more experienced boxer who turned professional last year.
“ Eumir will be ready for him”, said Philippine team foreign consultant Don Abnett. “This is the best condition I’ve seen Marcial in. The five-week training camp in Thailand prior to this tournament boosted not only his physical state but his mental state as well”.
James Palicte, however, broke the string of four victories by the Philippine boxing team, bowing to a superior Uzbek boxer, Elnur Abduraimov, a World Championships bronze medalist 5-0.
Friday the team takes a break with Irish Magno, Carlo Paalam and Ian Clark Bautista taking on their respective opponents Saturday.
There are 221 boxers from 35 countries hoping to get a slot in the Tokyo Olympics scheduled to start July 24 in Tokyo, Japan.
Source: Manila Bulletin
Xtra Sports ph 