Historic gold
Marcial becomes first-ever Filipino to win gold in AIBA Junior World Championships
Astana, Kazakhstan—15-year-old Zamboanga pride Eumir Felix Marcial made history by becoming the first ever Filipino to win a gold medal Saturday night in the tough AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships held at the Kazakhstan Sports Palace here.
Now considered as boxing’s newest teen sensation, Marcial captured the 52kg crown by outpointing Turkey’s Onat Cengiz in the finals via a convincing 9-7 score.
In a battle of southpaws, Marcial was able to dictate the tempo middle of the second round of their chess-like battle as both tried to figure each other’s styles early in the bout.
“I hit him with a good left to the body in the second round and I saw him wince in pain. At that point, I knew I had a great chance but I just kept my focus and kept in mind what my coach told me to do,” said Marcial.
It was a close contest indeed as the first round ended with a 3-2 tally with Marcial ahead.
“He’s very attentive to my instructions and that’s what’s good about this kid. When he remained standing during the break entering the third round, I already felt he will win this fight,” said coach and three-time Olympian Romeo Brin.
From being aggressive then being a stylist in the first two rounds, Marcial showed impressive defensive talent in the third round as he avoided the supposed accurate offensive attacks of the Cengiz that helped the Turkish win over boxers from France, Germany and Korea on his way to the Finals.
For his part Marcial entered the Finals by beating the best young boxers from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus before battling Cengiz.
Marcial scored one of the most impressive wins in the tournament when he stopped Vaha Eduard of Belarus right in the opening round of their semifinal battle.
AIBA president Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu was so impressed with Marcial that he gave the young Filipino fighter words of advice during a chance meeting at the Beijing Palace, where the Philippine entourage had dinner.
“I suggest that your organization take care of this kid because has exciting potentials. I hope to see him in the 2016 Olympics,” said Wu.
Of the 48 countries that participated in this major event, 15 nations were able to send boxers to the Finals. Of those 15 nations, 12 fighters represent Asia while another 12 from Europe, making it unofficially a dual meet between Asian and European boxers. The Philippine team is being supported by Accel, Powerade and PLDT. /abap media bureau
