Marcial stops foe in Europe vs Asia

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – ABAP national boxer Eumir Felix Marcial, bucking below zero degrees weather, scored a sensational third round Referee-Stopped-Contest (RSC) victory over hometown boy Milos Bartl in the Europe vs. Asia Boxing Tournament at the Prague Hilton Saturday evening.

The 23-year-old Zamboanga middleweight (75 kg) dropped his foe twice, once in the dying seconds of the first round and then again in the third with a sharp left-right combination that forced referee Tomas Smid of the host country to wave the fight off despite protestations from the game Czech boxer.

Marcial was awarded a beautiful handcrafted trophy made by the famous crystal and glass artisan of Prague.

“I’m still not in top condition coming off the Christmas break,”said Marcial after the fight in the posh hotel. “I also hardly had any sparring sessions since there is no one else in the team in my weight division.”

ABAP secretary-general Ed Picson, who was at ringside, said plans are afoot for the former World Junior champion (2011) and two-time SEA Games gold medalist and bronze winner in the Asian Games to spend “a lot of time abroad” with other national hopefuls for training and competition in preparation for the World Championships in October and the SEA Games in December.

Elite head coach Ronald Chavez, who won a gold medal in a tournament here in 1994, said Marcial proved his class in the fight but was still working on his stamina and timing.

“Konti pang conditioning at sparring, makukuha na ni Eumir yong dati niyang lakas at diskarte. Masipag at disiplinadong bata kasi yan,” said the 1992 Barcelona Olympics veteran.

The unique match, organized by the Czech Boxing Federation, featured 16 bouts between boxers of the two continents.

The match ended even at  8-8.