By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Eumir Marcial made sure there will be no upset this time.
Clinching the number one rank in the men’s middleweight division (75kg), the 24-year old Filipino slugger continued his dominance after stopping Mongolia’s Byamba-Erden Otgonbaatar in the third round of the 2020 Asia and Oceania Olympic boxing qualifiers in Amman, Jordan.
Getting a semifinals berth would mean taking the final seat to the 2020 Olympics which will be held from July 24 to August 9 in Tokyo.
Marcial and his Mongolian foe traded heavy blows in the first round, measuring each other’s punching power.
During the second round, the PH pride began to take full control of the tempo of the game, slowing it down while picking Otgonbaatar apart with significant shots to the body and head.
The third round became a one-sided exchange as Marcial threw heavy power punches that left the Mongolian falling to the canvass with the referee stopping the contest at the 45th second mark.
Marcial’s stunning victory made him the first Filipino boxer to punch his ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
