EUMIR FELIX MARCIAL is locked and loaded for his regional title fight against Venezuela’s knockout artist Eddy ‘El Terrible’ Colmenares on October 29 in the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ 50th anniversary fight card at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Marcial gets the opportunity to gauge his level as a pro in his fight against Colmenares for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight international belt.
Joven Jimenez trains and coaches Marcial at the Tagaytay City National Kickboxing Center.
‘He is doing very well,’ said Jimenez, also the trainer,coach and manager of former International Boxing Federation super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas. ‘He’s very focused and I believe he’s gotten better as a pro.’
After settling his marital issues a few months ago, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist and four-time Southeast Asian Games champion trained for six weeks at the Knuckleheads gym in Las Vegas.
‘I arrived in Manila after a productive training session in the US. I focused on my conditioning because my fight is now a 10-rounder from the previous eight-rounder,’ said the 29-year-old who’s unbeaten in six professional fights.
Marcial last fought in the Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios under card last July 19 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas where he beat American Bernard Joseph via a third-round knockout knockout win.
But the 28-year-old opponent will be a challenging- Colmenares’s record stands at 11-2-1 win-loss-draw record and all his victories were knockouts.
‘No time to underestimate my opponent, whatever record his record is,’ Marcial said. ‘In boxing, anything can happen.’
The ‘Thrilla in Manila’ main event pits WBC minimum weight champion Melvin Jerusalem against South Africa’s Ayanda Kuse.