As his promotional team clears the path towards a world title shot, Eumir Marcial resumes his training camp in Manila following a six-week buildup in Las Vegas.

Marcial, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist, battles Venezuelan knockout artist Eddy Colmenares in one of the featured fights of the 50th anniversary of the Thrilla in Manila on 29 October at the Smart Araneta Coliseum where Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier waged a bloody 14-round war in October 1975.

The heavy-handed Filipino southpaw was driven to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas by his promoter Sean Gibbons on Saturday joined by fellow fighter Jerwin Ancajas and trainer Joven Jimenez.

“Eumir’s going to get trained there in the Philippines by coach Joven,” Gibbons said.

As for his South American rival, Colmenares is planning in on 23 October.

Marcial trained at Gibbons’ well-equipped Knuckleheads Boxing Gym the whole of September following his smashing performance during the Manny Pacquiao headliner last July at the MGM Grand.

On that night, Marcial crushed Bernard Joseph to raise his win-loss-draw record to 6-0 with four knockouts.

In 2026, Marcial’s schedule is going to extra-tight as Gibbons is paving the way for his shot at the world middleweight crown by the end of next year.

This means that Marcial will be focused on his professional career and it doesn’t appear as if he would have the opportunity to suit up for the Philippines in the Thailand Southeast Asian Games in December and the Asian Games in Nagoya in 2026.

Gibbons would like to see Marcial, who turns 30 on the night he faces Colmenares, fight four times in 2026 to speed up his rise in the world ratings.

Even Pacquiao is giddy with excitement over Marcial’s career that he would personally train him once he secures a chance to fight for the world championship.

Recently, Pacquiao singled out Marcial, a native of Zamboanga, as a hot prospect given his immense punching power.