Marcial faces new foe

LOS ANGELES — Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Eumir Marcial will have a new opponent on 19 July in Las Vegas.

Bernard Joseph, a 35-year-old puncher from the East Coast, has been tapped to replace Alexis Gaytan.

Marcial was supposed to battle Gaytan in an eight-rounder at an agreed weight of 163 pounds in the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s headlining shot at Mario barrios’ World Boxing Council welterweight crown at the MGM Grand.

The unbeaten Marcial told DAILY TRIBUNE that the change doesn’t bother him at all.

What’s important is that the Filipino southpaw trained long and hard for this upcoming fight and oftentimes under the watchful eyes of Pacquiao himself.

Packing a 5-0-0 win-loss-draw record with three knockouts, Marcial faces a more seasoned campaigner in Joseph, who holds an 11-2-1 slate with five knockouts.

Marcial is one of two Filipinos — with the exception of the eight-division legend — who will see action in the undercard.

“I can’t wait to showcase my skills and my power,” Marcial, originally from Zamboanga, said after his training session at the Wild Card Boxing Club.

This will be Marcial’s first professional outing since March last year.

An impressive victory is vital for Marcial since he is being groomed to fight for the world 160-pound title next year by Pacquiao and Sean Gibbons, who runs MP Promotions.

“Three more fights and next year we’ll give him a title shot,” the well-connected and influential Gibbons assured Pacquiao.

If Marcial eventually secures a title shot, Pacquiao said he will be the one to train him.

“My plan is for you to just not fight for the world title but win it and make some money,” Pacquiao told Marcial during a break in one of their recent abs workouts.