KUALA LUMPUR — John Marvin and Eumir Felix Marcial scored decisive victories to win the gold medals for the Philippines in the boxing competitions of the 29th Southeast Asian Games.
Marcial outclassed Thailand fighter Pathomsak Kuttiya via unanimous decision in the middlewight class while Marvin ended his bout with Adli Hafildz B. Mohd Pauzi of Malaysia in just 21 seconds to capture the light heavyweight gold.
Mario Fernandez settled for the silver medal in the bantamweight division after a loss to Chatchai Butdee of Thailand in the only other final bout involving a Filipino fighter.
Marcial, 21, fought a technical fight, scoring on different combinations and stunning the Thai with a hard shot for a standing eight-count in the third and final round.
His unanimous decision win was one of three losses suffered by the Thais in the gold-medal matches.
In contrast, Marvin, a Fil-Brit boxer recruited from the British Army, attacked from the start after seeing the Malaysian fighter start the fight with his guard down.
A series of punches to the head right rom the get-go left the Malaysian groggy before the referee stepped in to stop the fight.
The Philippines finished second in the overall standings in boxing after winning two gold, one silver, and two bronze medals, losing only to Thailand due to an inferior silver medal output.
Thailand topped the event with a 2-3-1 tally.
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