Eumir Marcial made full use of his lone fight before campaigning in the 2024 Paris Olympics by scoring a one-punch fourth-round knockout of Thailand’s Thoedsak Sinam late Saturday night before adoring fans and followers at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Filipino southpaw, who will see action as a light-heavyweight during the 26 July to 11 August Olympics, landed a left uppercut that scraped through Sinam’s pudgy face.
For a second, Sinam backed away but he fell down hard as his knees gave in, forcing referee Danrex Tapdasan to administer the count.
Sinam moved his head in an apparent attempt to get up but he just could not until Tapdasan a lawyer by profession, reached ten.
Paramedics immediately climbed the ring to give the fallen fighter oxygen as he remained on the deck looking as if he had been ran over by a speeding bus on the freeway.
Marcial, fighting for the fifth time as a professional, meanwhile, flexed his muscles then climbed the ring apron and raised his hands in triumph as the crowd cheered.
The official time was 1:33.
“I had long wanted to catch him with the left uppercut as early as the second round because I knew that once I hit him, he would go down,” Marcial said.
“I was looking for a knockout and we were successful.”
Next up for Marcial is a training camp stint in Colorado Springs with the Philippine national team next month and another training session in Thailand.
But the Thai trip could be scrapped for Marcial since his American handler Sean Gibbons insists setting up camp in Las Vegas would be perfect.
“I don’t see any reason why he would opt to join the team in Thailand when he can train in Las Vegas,” Gibbons said, whose MP Promotions put up the slugfest that was attended by a bevy of top Filipino boxers from the pro and the amateur ranks.
To prepare for Sinam, Marcial trained under Kay Koroma at the DLX Gym in Las Vegas where high-quality sparring with big guys was plentiful.
Also in attendance during Marcial’s first fight on Philippine soil since 2019 were Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and his brother, Sen. Francis Tolentino, as well as Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Richard Bachmann and visiting World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman.
Noticeably absent was eight-division legend Manny Pacquiao, who Marcial wished was at ringside.
Since Marcial has already qualified for Paris, you bet that Pacquiao will be there to cheer him on.
