I have a funny feeling that Eumir Marcial might end up discovering that he had probably walked inside the wrong weight class.
One of the country’s brightest hopes for a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics next year, Marcial just kicked off his campaign in the middleweight division of 160 lbs.
We simply can’t fault Marcial for growing bigger than the usual Filipino man.
At a little over 5-foot-8, Marcial’s physique is built for middleweight.
Before deciding to enter the punch-for-pay business, Marcial placed second in the 2019 World Championships and only last March, prior to the worldwide lockdown, he topped the Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifier in Jordan.
Coming into his four-round pro debut against Idaho’s Andrew Whitfield in downtown Los Angeles last week, Marcial was expected to put him away in two or three rounds.
Instead, Marcial had to wait for the ring announcer to read the score sheets of the three judges.
Based on what he showed against Whitfield, there is a ton of tricks Marcial has to learn before people begin hailing him as the Philippines’ next big star.
You see, Marcial did get hit quite a few times by the rugged but limited Whitfield, who was supposed to end up horizontal.
But it took Marcial all four rounds to get his first W.
Later, Marcial revealed that he hurt his right hand and was advised by trainer Freddie Roach to take it nice and easy in the fourth round since they had already had the fight in the bag.
I guess another factor why Marcial wasn’t as explosive was the inadequate time he spent training at the Wild Card.
Marcial arrived in the United States in the second week of October and only started working under Roach two weeks later.
Sean Gibbons, whose MP Promotions arranged for the Filipino’s first fight as a pro, swears Marcial is going to be much better next time because he would be working long hours with Roach starting January as they prepare for Fight No. 2.
But assuming Marcial undergoes a massive makeover, would he become as formidable as we want him to be?
You know, the middleweight division is boxing’s killer weight class. It was where Sugar Ray Robinson reigned like royalty, where Marvin Hagler roared like a lion, where Sugar Ray Leonard stamped his class and where Roberto Duran became young again.
Nowadays, the division is home to Gennady Golovkin and recently, it was also the domain of his bitter rival Saul ‘’Canelo” Alvarez.
While, the Philippines has a contribution in Ceferino Garcia, whose Bolo Punch carried him to the top of 160 in 1939 in New York, one guy who tried his luck even south of the division — with the exception of Manny Pacquiao against Antonio Margarito in 2010 — got butchered in 1995.
Davao banger who vied for the junior-middleweight title, Armand Picar, was mauled by Argentine Julio Cesar Vazquez in less than two rounds.
Wait, I am not saying Marcial is going to end up looking like Picar.
All I am saying is that Marcial is in the company of wolves.
If Roach doesn’t do wonders, Marcial will have a hard time making a dent.
But there is still a lot of time. One good thing about Marcial is that he packs dynamite on both fists. Another plus factor is that he is not only willing to learn, but is also like a sponge, according to Roach’s trusted assistant Marvin Somodio.
And with somebody like Roach and the core of Team Pacquiao joining hands to arm Marcial for the wars ahead, don’t be surprised if Marcial doesn’t only win a Tokyo gold but duplicate or even surpass Garcia’s feat 80 years ago.
