OLYMPIAN Eumir Felix Marcial admits he lost a lot of his confidence the entire time he was idle while dealing with COVID-19 restrictions in the Philippines.
This Marcial realized soon after he had his first sparring session at the famed Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California.
The 25-year-old Marcial sparred with veteran middleweight Gabriel Rosado Wednesday afternoon (Thursday morning, Manila time) which lasted for three rounds. Rosado is preparing for a fight opposite former world middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs on November 27 in California.
“Bumalik talaga yung kumpiyansa ko pagtapos ng sparring kasi matagal na ako walang training and laban habang nasa Pilipinas kaya ngayon masasabi ko na tama talaga desisyon ko na pumunta dito sa US,” said Marcial.
Marcial last fought March of this year when he won the gold and an outright Olympic slot during the Asian Olympic Qualifiers held in Amman, Jordan.
Soon after signing a promotional deal with Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions last July, Marcial requested the senator, through the outfit’s president Sean Gibbons, to help him jumpstart his training for the Tokyo Olympics next year.
Gibbons immediately arranged a training camp for Marcial in Los Angeles, paving the way for the Filipino Olympian to travel to the United States middle of October.
“Pasalamat ako kay Senator kasi hindi naman talaga niya obligasyon na gastusan itong training camp kasi nga, promoter siya, hindi manager. Yung paghanap lang ng laban ko ang obligasyon talaga ng MP Promotions,” said Marcial.
Marcial is set to submit a proposal to the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to request appropriate funding for his training program.
The program will officially tap famed trainer Freddie Roach as his lead trainer, Justin Fortune as his conditioning coach and Roach’s Filipino deputy Marvin Somodio as assistant trainer.
Marcial is also hoping to get head coach Ronald Chavez and one Filipino Sports Masseur Trainer to join him in his training camp as well as former national team member and former regional champion Anthony Marcial to be his main companion both in training and his daily routine.
“Nagsabi naman ang ABAP at PSC na tutulong sila kaya sana masuportahan nila itong program dito kasi komportable na ako kay coach Freddie although maganda din kung makakasama ko pa si coach Ronald,” disclosed Marcial.
Next week, Marcial will resume his sparring session in an effort to be in fighting shape come December as Gibbons, a noted matchmaker who has been giving several Filipinos world title opportunities, is working on getting a mid-December fight for the Zamboangeno boxer.
“Pinaghahandaan ko na din yung sinabi ni Sir Sean na baka lumaban ako sa December pero ang focus ko talaga ngayon, bumalik kondisyon ko tapos magtuloy-tuloy na yung training para sa Olympics. Yan lang talaga ang priority ko, Olympic gold, wala nang iba,” disclosed Marcial.
