SO FAR, SO GOOD
Tokyo-bound Marcial progressing in LA training
Eumir is having a tremendous camp here in LA for February and March. Waiting to see when Thailand camp is and Eumir should join if all is good
It doesn’t look as if Tokyo Olympic qualifier Eumir Marcial is joining the Philippine boxing team in its training camp in Thailand anytime soon.
Although Marcial’s camp is not totally ruling out the possibility of going, American boxing man Sean Gibbons of MP Promotions made it clear yesterday that there is an intent to head to Asia.
“Eumir is having a tremendous camp here in LA for February and March. Waiting to see when Thailand camp is and Eumir should join if all is good,” Gibbons told Daily Tribune in a message.
Thrice a week, he spars under the watchful eyes of Roach.
Marcial is being targeted to fight for the second time as a professional sometime in April following his auspicious debut last December.
Gibbons swears Marcial is getting quality training in Los Angeles under Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Boxing Club.
Thrice a week, he spars under the watchful eyes of Roach and training assistant Marvin Somodio and gets strict supervision on strength and conditioning from Justin Fortune, all integral members of Manny Pacquiao’s training team.
The fighters who regularly spar with Marcial are two-time world middleweight title challenger Gabe Rosado, undefeated 19-year-old Diego Pacheco, who stands 6-foot-4, Russian Artur Akavov and Eric Priest.
The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) is luring Marcial to Thailand so he could get used to amateur-style boxing once again, something that its officials believe is crucial in the Zamboanga City natives’ quest for an Olympic medal.
ABAP secretary general Ed Picson said members of the national team, now training under a bubble setup in Calamba, Laguna, are ready to pack their bags and head for Thailand once they get cleared.
All the necessary documents have been forwarded to the Thai embassy for review, according to the ABAP.
Marcial flew to the United States last October, looking to launch a professional career as well as better training setup for the Tokyo Olympics.
During the lockdown, Marcial just worked out all by himself in his house in Imus, Cavite, sending pieces of video footage to his coaches occasionally as proof that he was in raining mode.
Marcial was not actually the only one who did virtual training while on lockdown.
Majority of the national athletes were also unable to train under the guidance of their respective coaches until they all got reunited in Laguna early last month after almost a year due to the pandemic.