ALL eyes are on Eumir Marcial whenever he enters the ring. With his lightning-speed jabs, straights, and hooks, the Zamboanga-born pro boxer swiftly defeated foes standing in his way of clinching his ultimate goal: to win a gold medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
After a challenging bout with Ukraine’s Oleksandr Khyzhniak and pocketing a bronze medal in Tokyo 2020, Marcial underwent rigorous training to earn a spot in his second Olympics.
Beyond his training, Marcial is fueled by another driving force: his passion for boxing and determination to lift his family out of poverty.
Martial’s motivations
Marcial came from a family with deep roots in boxing. His father, Eulalio Marcial, is a boxing coach, while his cousin, Anthony Marcial, inspired him to stay in the ring.
At six, Marcial showed a strong interest in boxing. He entered a boxing match and claimed his first win at seven. In an interview with GMA’s “Surprise Guest with Pia Arcangel” podcast, Marcial shared:
“Na-inspire po ako nung nakita ko ‘yung pinsan ko na lumalaban po siya. Parati ko siya nakikita na kasama ‘yung tatay ko, na nakakapunta sila ng mga iba’t ibang lugar. Sabi ko, parang gusto ko din maging isang boksingero.”
Marcial continued to fight in honor of his elder brother Eliver, who passed away at 39, a day after the professional boxer received the official green light from the Philippine Sports Commission to compete for the gold at Tokyo 2020.
His wife, Princess Jenniel Cabradilla Galarpe, a boxer from Cagayan de Oro, also unwaveringly supports her husband, especially when he needs encouragement and a training buddy.
Eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao is also one of Marcial’s inspirations for his boxing career.
A slew of boxing achievements
Powered by his passion and motivations, Marcial has kept on carving his own path in the boxing scene.
At age 15, Marcial showed potential when he became the first Filipino to take the gold in the International Boxing Association Junior World Championships in 2011. Marcial crushed Turkey’s Cengiz Onat in the ring with a right hook, claiming victory in the light bantamweight division.
In 2015, the Pinoy boxer joined the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore. Marcial knocked down the host country’s bet Jia Wei Tay in the men’s welterweight (69kg) finals match, securing his first gold medal in the biennial multi-sport event.
He took home his second consecutive gold medal in the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, where he defeated Thailand’s Pathomsak Kuttiya in the middleweight division.
The young boxer then competed in the men’s middleweight semifinal bout at the 2018 Asian Games. He was awarded a bronze medal when he lost to Uzbekistan’s Israil Madrimov.
Marcial’s list of accolades continued to get longer when he bagged a silver medal in the AIBA World Boxing Championships in 2019, following his middleweight match with Russia’s Gleb Bakshi.
In 2020, Marcial achieved another milestone in his boxing career when he qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after besting Mongolian boxer Byamba-Erdene Otgonbaatar in the men’s middleweight quarterfinals of the Asia-Oceania Olympic qualifiers in Jordan.
It was in the same year when Marcial signed a six-year deal with Pacquiao’s MP Promotions, which he believed would fully support him in future international competitions, including the highly anticipated Olympics.
After losing to Khyzhniak, he settled for a bronze medal in the middleweight class of boxing at the Tokyo Olympics. Marcial, however, will have another chance to redeem himself and clinch a gold medal for the Philippines in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics.
Going for the gold
The 28-year-old Zamboangueño pro boxer knocked his way to his second Olympics after winning against Syria’s Ahmad Ghousoon in the semifinals of the men’s 80kg class in the 19th Asian Games in China.
Securing his slot in Paris 2024, Marcial is resolved to bag his first Olympic gold medal.
“I’m happy I got the silver and I qualified for the Paris [2024] Olympics, so maybe at the Olympics I will change the colour of this and make it gold,” Marcial was quoted as saying in an Olympics article.
Marcial did not dismiss the possibility of battling against Khyzhniak anew in Paris, but he exuded confidence that he could knock the Ukrainian boxer down this time.
“Nandito sila sa weight class ko ngayon, lahat ng magagaling. Sa laban na ‘to, handa ‘yung katawan ko [physically], mentally, and spiritually,” he said in an interview with GMA’s “24 Oras,” adding that he might participate in a world boxing tournament in Europe before the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Whether Marcial faces his previous foes or other boxing champions, the Pinoy pro boxer’s intense training for his second Olympics has the Philippines hooked and thrilled for him to bring home the gold.
The Paris 2024 boxing competitions will run from July 27 to August 10 at the North Paris Arena and Roland Garros Stadium.
