‘BABY STEPS’ FOR MARCIAL
MP Promotions announced on Tuesday that three fights are lined up for the Tokyo Olympicsbound Eumir Felix Marcial’s first year as a professional boxer. But Marcial has to immerse himself in the brutal world of professional boxing one step at a time.
“We hope to have three fights [for Marcial] before the Olympics,” MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons told the virtual Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.
Marcial struck a six-year promotional deal with the Sen. Manny Pacquiao-owned outfit but stressed he remains focused on a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics that were postponed for July 23 to August 8, 2021.
Gibbons said that for starters, Marcial, 24, should debut in a four-rounder and slowly move up to six rounds, depending on the result of his first fight.
“Step by step,” Marcial told the forum presented by San Miguel Corp., Go For Gold, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and powered by Smart.
Marcial fights as a middleweight (75 kgs or 165 pounds), a division dominated by Canelo Alvarez, who is 30 years old, and Gennady Golovkin, who is way older at 38.
Asked if he salivates for a showdown with the two world champions, Marcial said it’s too early to think of the big fights.
“It’s too far ahead. I’m just starting out. I still have to fight the best in the Olympics—the Russian who beat me, the Ukrainian, the boxer from Kazakhstan and Cuba,” he said.
Gibbons concurred, saying Marcial vying for a world title would come at the right time.
“As we move along, by his third year [as a pro], I think he’ll be able to challenge someone for the title,” he said.
Gibbons said three fights should fit Marcial’s program for the next nine months. By April, the hard-hitting pride of Zamboanga should be fully focused on the Olympics.
“Hopefully we can do something in October and work from there—three fights before he has to stop and fully concentrate on the Olympics,”gibbons said.
“We just want to keep in line with what he’ll be doing in Tokyo,” said Gibbons, adding that if not for the Olympics, Marcial could be on a faster mode as a pro.
Marcial also bared that he would be sticking with the training program his coaches at the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines prepared for him for his journey to Tokyo.
Gibbons said the promotions granted Marcial’s request for him to tag along Abap Coach Ronald Chavez and foreign consultant Don Abnett.
Chavez and Abnett were at Marcial’s corner when he qualified for Tokyo in the Asia-oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Jordan last March and when he bagged silver in the International Boxing Association World Championships in Russia last year.