By NICK GIONGCO
Ricky Vargas, president of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) yesterday appealed to “certain individuals and entities” to allow middleweight Eumir Felix Marcial to fulfill his Olympic dreams before signing him up for the pros.
“I appeal to everyone to please allow this young man to first fulfill his goal- that of participating and doing well in the Tokyo Olympics to fulfill a life-long promise of a son to his father, and to do his country proud,” said Vargas in a statement.
“When the Olympics come to a close, we assure everyone that ABAP will not stand in the way of whatever path Eumir may wish to take in his boxing career.”
Marcial has already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after topping the Asia-Oceania Qualifying Tournament held last month in Amman, Jordan.
“Eumir Marcial is a national treasure in the making. Please allow him to take the path towards being one with no distractions (including media hype) which threaten to occupy his mind if these incredible offers persist. He just cannot afford it.”
Since Marcial has been making waves the last few years, several well-known promoters from the US have expressed their desire to recruit the heavy-handed Filipino puncher.
One of them, according to insiders, is Hall of Famer Shelly Finkel, who briefly served as Manny Pacquiao’s manager during the mid-2000s.
“Recently, however, with mind-boggling amounts being floated around, Eumir has been constantly pressured to deviate from his avowed mission,” said Vargas.
“The numbers being thrown around are just too staggering (they run into the tens of millions of pesos, even before he throws a punch) that would give anyone pause.
Finkel, 75, was Pacquiao’s chief handler when the then world super-featherweight champion fought Oscar Larios at the Araneta Coliseum in July 2006 and Erik Morales for the third time in Las Vegas in November of the same year.
During his heyday as a manager, Finkel also managed Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and the Klitschko brothers Vitali and Vladimir, among others.
