Filipino middleweight Eumir Marcial has received marching orders from Manny Pacquiao.
The Tokyo Olympics-bound fighter heard it loud and clear.
“Bring the Olympic gold medal to the (Errol) Spence fight on 21 August (in Las Vegas),” declared Sean Gibbons, who operates the Pacquiao-owned MP Promotions from Los Angeles yesterday.
Marcial, one of the country’s brightest bets for a podium finish, is scheduled to leave for Japan on Thursday night (Friday in Manila) from his training headquarters in Colorado Springs.
There was a plan for Marcial to meet up with Pacquiao when his plane makes a stopover in Los Angeles but it could not happen, according to Gibbons.
“They are not allowed to get out of the airport even for a short time,” Gibbons said, citing safety protocols being imposed by Tokyo on Olympic delegates.
Joining Marcial on the long journey from Colorado is lead trainer Ronald Chavez, who has presided over the 25-year-old southpaw’s training since 25 June.
Apart from Marcial, considered as medal contenders in the 75 kg gold are Gleb Bakshi of Russia and Oleksandr Khyzhniak of Ukraine, who have both beaten the Filipino puncher.
Marcial is under contract with MP Promotions alongside a bevy of big name fighters, including world champions John Riel Casimero and Jerwin Casimero and fast-rising featherweight Mark Magsayo.
