DON’T ask Eumir Felix Marcial about his dream of winning an Asian Games gold medal next month, ask him instead about his eighth professional fight that’s scheduled on the very same day the games open on September 19 in Nagoya.
‘Let’s not talk about the Asian Games for the meantime,’ Marcial told the BusinessMirror on Thursday just hours after it was announced that he’ll be defending his World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight international belt against American Omar Ulises Huerta at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.
‘I’m extremely focused on this fight,’ added the 30-year-old two-time Olympian who owns a middleweight bronze medal from Tokyo 2020.
Marcial always expresses that although the Asian Games rank high in his priorities, a similarly intense dream to become a pro boxing world champion are that high, too.
‘There’s another regional belt that would be staked in this fight, and it could lead to my dream of fighting for a world title,’ he said. ‘It won’t be easy that’s why I must give my entire time and focus on this one.’
On Monday, Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino said Marcial remains on the list of boxers for the Asian Games and that with his fight set on September 19 and with a high confidence level that he’d win, he’ll have enough time for recovery because the boxing competitions in Nagoya start on September 24.
Tolentino said Marcial ranks as a gold medal potential-he settled for silver losing to a Chinese in the final last 2023 in Hangzhou-alongside Tokyo Olympics silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio, as well as Aira Villegas, who like Petecio, clinched bronze in Paris two years ago.
Marcial is now in deep training at the Knuckleheads Gym in Las Vegas under the tight watch of Reynaldo Galido, gold medalist at the Hiroshima 1994 Asian Games and a 1996 Atlanta Olympian.
His main trainer, American Kaye Koroma, is focused on improving the quality of the Zamboanga City pride’s power punches, speed, agility and ring smart-ingredients needed to beat Huerta, who similarly has a burning passion to become a world champion.
Huerta was on a winning streak in 15 fights-13 of his opponents he knocked out-until fellow American Vieto Mielnicki Jr. beat him via unanimous decision last April 11 in New Jersey.
That, according to Marcial, makes his opponent dangerous.
‘It’s going to be dangerous because he is coming from a loss after an undefeated streak,’ said Marcial, ‘and he’s got an experience.’
Marcial is 7-0 with four knockouts but his last fight was almost a year ago-October 29 in the ‘Thrilla in Manila II’ at the Smart Araneta Coliseum-and it was a controversial majority decision over Venezuelan Eddy Colmenares.
He was knocked down in that fight.
Marcial fought at the Bangkok Asian Games last December 19 and won the light heavyweight gold medal, 4-1, over Indonesia’s Maikhel Roberrd Muskita.