ABAP prepares Plan B

MANILA, Philippines —Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Marcial is set to engage in a pro fight at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California, on Sept. 19 and with the Aichi-Nagoya Games boxing event to start four days later, ABAP president Marcus Manalo is inclined to write him off the Philippine roster.

“Eumir isn’t closing the door on the Asian Games and is willing to fly to Nagoya in time for his first fight,” said Manalo. “The draw is on Sept. 20 and Eumir’s opening bout is on Sept. 23. I think it’s too tight. The circumstances aren’t favorable. There’s no guarantee that Eumir will do an easy fight on Sept. 19. What if he suffers an injury or a cut that won’t make him ready to fight in Nagoya? No need to force it. My advice is if Eumir’s pro fight is confirmed, to focus on the pros. There’s a big difference in how you fight in the pros and the Olympic style. It’s like the difference in training for a middle-distance runner and a sprinter.”

Manalo said if Marcial skips Nagoya, his Plan B is to bring in another pro Weljon Mindoro, a bronze medalist in the last SEA Games, as replacement. “In our long list of entries by name for the Asian Games, we included Weljon,” he said. “There’s a possibility that if we’re unable to send a fighter in Eumir’s weight class, OCA may sanction POC. Weljon has a pro fight (against Mexico’s Carlos Ocampo) in Los Angeles on Aug. 29 but there’s time for him to join our camps in Bangkok and Japan before the Asian Games.”

Manalo said Marcial remains committed to qualify for the 2028 LA Olympics. “If Eumir won’t fight in Nagoya, there’s still the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Riyadh on Dec. 11-21 and the first Olympic qualifier is the World Championships in Kazakhstan in April,” noted Manalo. “In Riyadh, we’re limited to three boxers but replacements may be made in a different weight division unlike in Nagoya, if we replace Eumir, it has to be in his same division.” Marcial is now in Las Vegas training with coaches Joven Jimenez, Rey Galido and Kay Koroma.