Marcial overwhelmed by Pacquiao’s teachings
Up and coming fighters like Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Eumir Marcial inject a youthful vibe to the training camp of Manny Pacquiao (right), who makes it a two-way street by providing his knowledge of the sport.
Photograph courtesy of Viva Promotions
The three Filipino fighters seeing action in the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s monumental comeback next month in Las Vegas have been getting premium pointers from the eight-division champion.
As the trio of Eumir Marcial, Jerwin Ancajas and Mark Magsayo continue to hang out with Pacquiao in his morning runs, they haven’t only been receiving tips but absorbing his winning vibes as well.
Most noteworthy is the middleweight Marcial, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist who is facing American Alexis Gaytan in an eight-rounder on 19 July at the MGM Grand.
While watching Pacquiao work out at the Wild Card Boxing Club recently, Marcial was approached by the Hall of Famer and was told how to throw a mean punch using the left hand.
Marcial, a southpaw like his idol, even used his right hand to catch Pacquiao’s left and left the gym wiser.
“I never thought that I would someday be fighting on the same night my idol is fighting,” said Marcial, who holds a 5-0-0 win-loss-draw with three knockouts.
Pacquiao arrived in Los Angeles more than a month ago and immediately plunged into training as he braces for Mario Barrios in a bid to snatch the World Boxing Council welterweight crown.
Soon after, Marcial and other Filipino fighters representing the Sean Gibbons-ran MP Promotions left their Las Vegas training camp to join Pacquiao.
They have accompanied Pacquiao at Griffith Park and at the Pan Pacific Park during non-climbing days.
Gaytan poses as a threat to Marcial’s quest to get his professional career going after a surprising early exit in the Paris Olympics.
The 30-year-old Texas native sports a 17-10-0 ledger with six knockouts.
Like Marcial, Ancajas and Magsayo, both former world champions, are taking advantage of training alongside Pacquiao during the morning sessions and in the afternoon at the gym.
Gibbons feels the young guns and Pacquiao are complementing each other.
“There is that youthful vibe and the experience that Manny Pacquiao brings,” said Gibbons, who is playing a pivotal role in this mega comeback of the Philippines’ greatest athlete of all time.
