EUMIR FELIX MARCIAL CLAIMED 3RD STRAIGHT PRO BOXING VICTORY
4 min readTOKYO Olympics bronze winner Eumir Felix Marcial scored a unanimous decision win over American Stephen Pichardo at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson City, California over the weekend.
Marcial survived a second-round bad cut on his right eye, grabbing his third straight pro victory in the six-round middleweight showdown, which was the undercard of the Jerwin Ancajas-Fernando Martinez International Boxing Federation junior bantamweight title fight. Martinez retained his crown with a similar unanimous decision victory.
Pichardo, for his part, absorbed his third defeat after eight wins and one draw.
An accidental headbutt hurt Marcial, but he fought through the match with blood pouring from his eye en route to winning judges James Green, Ivan Guillermo, and Ellis Johnson’s scorecards, 60-54.
Eumir Felix Marcial commenting
“Unang una maraming salamat sa Diyos sa kaligtasan at panalo na pinagkaloob sa akin. Maraming salamat din sa lahat ng pinoy na nag dasal at pumunta sa laban ko sa Dignity Sports Park Los Angeles (First of all, many thanks to God for the keeping me safe and for the and victory he granted to me. Thank you very much to all the Filipinos who prayed and came to my match at Dignity Sports Park Los Angeles),” Marcial wrote on his Facebook.
The Zamboanga City native Marcial is expected to rejoin the national boxing team, which will compete in the Asian Elite Senior Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan on October 30 to November 12.
His triumph somehow reduced the sting of Ancajas’ failed bid to reclaim his crown from Martinez, who snatched his title on February 26, 2022, also by unanimous decision.
The Argentinian boxer clearly outboxed Ancajas to convincingly win the judges’ favor for his first successful title defense.
Philippines remains without a world boxing champion as Filipino Nonito Donaire lost to Japanese champion Naoya Inoue for the world bantamweight crown last July in their unification title fight.
American cable boxing network Showtime’s ring statistics showed how Martinez dominated the bout, connecting 19 of his 90 jabs for a 27 percent average while Ancajas registered only seven percent (17/241).
Martinez led on landed body shots landed, connecting 222 of 584 power punches, compared to Ancajas (168-554).
Marcial last fought and defeated Isiah Hart in April this year via a knockout win after recovering from three knockdowns during their encounter.
Social media blast
Meanwhile, congratulatory greetings flooded Marcial’s Facebook.
He shared Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s Facebook post, which said, “Congratulations Sgt. Eumir Marcial! Pinahanga mo kami sa ipinamalas mong galing at tapang sa taas ng ring. Isa kang inspirasyon sa mga kababayan natin. Saludo (You impressed us with the skill and courage you displayed at the top of the ring. You are an inspiration to our countrymen. Greetings)!.”
Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, for his part, said: “Congratulations, Eumir Felix DS Marcial. We are proud of you!” Marcial then replied, “Maraming salamat Ninong Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino isa po kayo sa mga sumusuporta saken para marating ko mga pangarap ko. Mabuhay (Thank you very much, godfather Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, you are one of those who support me so that I can achieve my dreams. Long live)!”
