The only way Eumir Marcial can have his cake and eat it too is for an ideal training scenario to happen.
Sean Gibbons, whose MP Promotions is leading the way in giving Filipino boxers golden opportunities to fight for world titles, feels Marcial could end up mixing his professional career and amateur commitments will depend on one main ingredient.
Aware that Marcial has committed to representing the country and gun for a fifth gold medal when Phnom Penh hosts the 32nd Southeast Asian Games this May, Gibbons swears the stars have to align.
“If somehow the senator (Manny Pacquiao) fights in May, Eumir could spend training camp in the Philippines and work out at the same time so his training could be properly supervised,” Gibbons said, stressing that Marcial should run roughshod over the opposition in Cambodia.
“It (SEA Games) is a gimme,” Gibbons said as he expressed supreme confidence that Marcial is head and shoulders above the SEA region’s best.
Based on Gibbons’ plans, if Marcial looks good in San Antonio, Texas, on 11 February — the Zamboanga southpaw’s fifth pro assignment — he will likely be booked another fight in June, quite possibly his first 10-rounder.
Then, it will be onwards to the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September-October, which will serve as a qualifying tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Marcial has openly talked about securing another Olympic stint so he could fulfill his dream of winning gold in the Olympics.
Presently, Marcial is training in Las Vegas alongside a growing number of Filipino punchers who are getting ready for world title shots taking place in the next three to four months.
Gibbons is silently working on giving Pacquiao a fight in May to enable the eight-division legend the chance to end his Hall of Fame career with a big bang.
The Middle East has been floated as a possible venue and British banger Kell Brook as target opponent.
