By REY C. LACHICA
PARIS – It was hot outside the North Paris Arena but Filipinos inside the facility of Villepinte – a city right in the heart of Seine-Saint-Denis – suddenly became icy-cold, speechless and distraught.
But who would not be?
Eumir Marcial, hailed as the next big thing in Philippines boxing after his bronze medal-finish in the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games, suffered a shocking early exit in the Paris Olympics, losing to a young and taller Uzbek Turabek Khabibullaev in the round-of-16 of the men’s 80kg. class on Tuesday night, July 30.
Marcial’s exit was so sudden and extremely painful that it was also felt by millions of Filipinos who woke up to the sad news back home.
But for Marcial, the defeat put him at the crossroads of what was once a bright and illustrious boxing career.
“Buong buhay ko ito ang pinangarap ko, ngayon hindi ko alam kung magpo-focus ako sa pagiging pro or kung magsisimula ulit ako,” a teary-eyed Marcial said.
Those questions would be answered once Marcial could overcome his sorrow.
Like a true warrior, Marcial offered no excuses for his defeat to the bronze medalist in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year where the pride of Zamboanga was the losing finalist to a Chinese rival.
But what saddened him the most was that all his sacrifices he made – spending extra hours inside the gym, sleeping and waking up early – went down the drain in just 9 minutes atop the ring.
Yes, just three painful rounds.
For that, Marcial was very apologetic and even asked all his supporters and sponsors to be patient, saying: “Sobrang sakit, so humihingi ako ng pasensya sa lahat ng mga supporters ko. Sana huwag po kayong magsawa sa pagsuporta sa akin.”
Marcial tried very hard to cover up his anguish by saying: “Siguro may ibang balak ang panginoon sa akin.”
Defeat, however, was imminent the moment he stepped atop the ring.
“Parang may hinahanap siya,” said one member of Team PH. “Baka si Princess, yung asawa nya.”
While he was lively and vivacious in previous fights, this time, Marcial appeared dispirited.
And that was exploited to the fullest by his Uzbek rival, tagging him with crisp jabs and several solid combinations.
With the Uzbek’s imposing height advantage, Marcial found it difficult to land his trademark booming shots that led him to an impressive 5-0 start as a pro fighter.
Fully aware that he was behind in the scorecards of all five judges, Marcial went for the kill in the third and final round.
But no miracle punch was delivered and the Uzbek fighter wisely danced the remaining time away to complete his upset over the seventh seeded Marcial.
It was the first loss by the 5-player PH boxing team after rookie Aira Villegas and Tokyo Games silver medalist Nesthy Petecio scored impressive wins earlier.
