NOW the focus shifts to the Paris Olympics for Eumir Felix Marcial.
The Filipino Olympian took care of business Saturday night when he knocked out Thai opponent Thoedsak Sinam during his homecoming fight at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Marcial finished off the Thai at the 1:33 mark of the fourth round courtesy of a vicious left uppercut which knocked Sinam (23-14, 19 KOs) out even before he hit the canvas.
The 28-year-old Tokyo Games bronze medalist then raised both his arms in triumph as the referee counted out the Thai.
Marcial, who fights out of MP Promotions, improved his record to 5-0 with three knockouts in his final professional fight before focusing all of his energies on getting ready for the August Olympics in Paris.
As per the program laid out by the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP), Marcial will be joining the national team in its camp at the US Olympic Training Center in Denver, Colorado in early April and later on, travel with the team in Thailand for a similar training camp where the final Olympic qualifying tournament will also be held in Bangkok.
Marcial won an Olympic bronze in Tokyo two years ago as a middleweight, but will now campaign as a light-heavyweight (super-middleweight) in Paris.
The bout against Sinam was the first for Marcial on Philippine soil in the last five years since he bagged the middleweight gold in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in Manila.
Major sports personalities graced the 10-fight card that was open to the public, including WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Richard Bachmann, Philippine Olympic Committee President Bambol Tolentino, Senator Francis Tolentino, Games and Amusement Board Chairman Atty. Richard Clarin, boxing supporter and basketball team owner Junnie Navarro, MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons, and former world champions Marlon Tapales and Jerwin Ancajas.
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