EUMIR Marcial said he also felt bad about the knockout loss of his semifinal opponent Oleksandr Khyzhniak of Ukraine in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Marcial was the last fighter Khyzhniak faced before his 62-fight winning streak was ended by Hebert Sousa of Brazil in the men’s middleweight final.
Unpredictable sport
The 25-year-old Marcial said Khyzhniak’s fate is exactly why boxing is such an unpredictable sport.
“Parang ako din, nasaktan para sa kanya,” said Marcial.
Khyzhniak was leading on points entering the third round of his battle against Sousa when the Brazilian landed a left hook that sent the Ukrainian into the canvas. The referee didn’t even concluded his eight-count on the reeling Khyzhniak and stopped the fight.
“Boxing is boxing,” Marcial said. “Hindi talaga natin alam, hindi natin hawak ‘yung desisyon. Kahit panalo ka na, matatalo ka pa.”
Pundits believe that the middleweight division had some of the best fighters and bouts during the Olympics including that of Marcial’s bout against Khyzhniak were the Filipino fighter lost in a slugfest to settle for the bronze.
Marcial said he expects he will be meeting the same boxers down the road, whether in the Olympics, World Championship, or even in the pro ranks.
“Hindi imposible mangyari ‘yun dahil parang kami kami din. Halos lahat din na middleweight boxers, nag-pro na rin katulad nung Russian, ‘yung world champion,” said Marcial, referring to Gleb Bakshi, the fighter he lost to during the 2019 world championship.
“Kausap ko ‘yung Brazil, magpo-pro daw siya… Halos lahat po lalo na sa timbang ko sa middleweight, halosl lahat pro,” said Marcial.
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