By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Philippine national boxing team is unstoppable as of the moment.
With Nesthy Petecio cruising through the women’s quarterfinals to set up a semifinals clash with Sena Irie of Japan, Eumir Felix Marcial of the men’s division also punched a ticket to the semis and is one win away from grabbing a Tokyo Olympics berth.
The Filipino slugger overwhelmed and pressed the attack to complete a dominating victory against Australia’s Kirra Ruston to also claim the number one seed in the men’s middleweight division (75 kg).
Marcial scored a perfect 5-0 sweep against the Australian and made it clear that he was the man to beat in the 75kg division.
However, Marcial found difficulties handling Ruston’s heavy jabs and straights in the second round that put him in awkward situations but fortunately, his veteran smarts and good decision-making allowed Marcial to switch the tempo and gain the momentum in the match.
“When people were going into the ring, I felt pressure, but when I went into the ring, that was all in my mind. I wanted to win. I wanted to get that slot for Olympics,” said Marcial.
The same as the women’s format, a win in the semifinals bout will guarantee a slot to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
