Eumir Marcial unleashed a cracking right hook in the first round that sent Arman Darchinyan of Armenia to the canvass and him into the semifinals in their men’s middleweight quarterfinal bout at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Marcial was in complete control of the brief bout, attacking Darchinyan right from the opening bell with crushing body shots that had the Armenian covering up and backing off.
Darchinyan was eventually called for a standing eight count by referee Wulfren Olivarez Perez after absorbing a variety of blows, and from there it was just a matter of time before Marcial would end the one-sided bout.
It came with less than a minute left courtesy of that right hook that sent Darchinyan, nephew of former two-division world champion Vic, spinning and crashing to the canvass. Perez didn’t bother to count and immediately waved the bout off, sending Marcial into a euphoric celebration.
Marcial’s win guarantees the Philippines a record third medal in these Olympic Games, the most by the country in any edition of the quadrennial meet. He will go for a seat in the final against Oleksandr Khyzhniak of the Ukraine, who beat Euri Cedeno Martinez of the Dominican Republic via a 4-1 split decision.
Marcial has spent a total of four minutes and 52 seconds inside the ring. After drawing a bye in the Round of 32, he disposed of Younes Nemouchi of Algeria in 2:41 of their Round of 16 bout. It took him 30 seconds less to take care of Darchinyan.
