Marcial braces for rough sailing
‘It’s a very tough group he is in. You’ve got the Ukrainian, who beat him (in the Tokyo Olympics), the Chinese who beat him (in the Asian Games final), the Cuban and the Kazakh’
Daily Tribune‘It’s a very tough group he is in. You’ve got the Ukrainian, who beat him (in the Tokyo Olympics), the Chinese who beat him (in the Asian Games final), the Cuban and the Kazakh’
A big part of Eumir Marcial’s success in the Paris Olympics rests on the luck of the draw.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF eumir marcial
Sean Gibbons admitted that Filipino light-heavyweight Eumir Marcial has found himself in the company of “killers” in the Paris Olympics.
“It’s a very tough group he is in. You’ve got the Ukrainian, who beat him (in the Tokyo Olympics), the Chinese who beat him (in the Asian Games final), the Cuban and the Kazakh,” Gibbons said on Tuesday from the United States.
The draw, Gibbons said, will play a pivotal role in Marcial’s quest for the Olympic gold medal.
“He could beat the Ukrainian because the last time, he just got tired and this time, that’s not going to be a problem,” added Gibbons.
The Zamboanga-bred southpaw needs to win four times to capture the gold.
Marcial makes his debut in the Round of 16 on 30 July. If he wins, he will be back for the quarterfinal on 2 August and another victory catapults him to a semifinal meeting on 4 August for the chance to vie for the gold on 7 August.
A veteran of five professional fights, Marcial is joined in the division by Oleksandr Khyzhniak of Ukraine, Tuohaterbieke Tanglatihan of China, Arlan Lopez of Cuba and Nurbek Uralbay of Kazakhstan.
Lopez remains the most accomplished, having won Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro (2016) and Tokyo (2021) as well as finishing first in the 2015 world championships and winner also in three editions of the Pan American Games.
But not to be overlooked are crack entries from Australia, Uzbekistan, Italy, Egypt, Hungary and Brazil.
Despite the tremendous odds, Gibbons has faith in Marcial, whose Olympic buildup gets solid support from his American mentor Kay Koroma in Las Vegas.
Marcial is currently in Sin City where he will be staying until the first week of July for a short camp together with the rest of the boxing team in Saarbrücken in Germany.
The Paris Summer Games will run from 26 July until 11 August.