Dion Mikhail Fetalvero

Philippine boxing suffered a gut-wrenching punch in the Paris Olympic Games — with a loss from its Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medalist.


Photo Courtesy of AP Photo/John Loche.

Eumir Marcial ended his Olympic campaign on a sad note, suffering from a catastrophic defeat against Uzbekistan boxer Turabek Khabibullaev in the round of 16 of the men’s 80kg division, today.

Marcial, who was one of the favorites to bag an Olympic medal for the country, failed to replicate his success three years ago where he reached the semifinal bout of the men’s middleweight division before losing to Ukrainian boxer, Oleksandr Khyzhniak, 3-2.

“Siguro talagang hindi para sa akin at mayroong pagkukulang, o may plano ang Panginoon para sa akin," the University of Baguio student claimed.

The Zamboanga-native put up a gallant stand regardless, tactically launching his jabs at the opener, but failed to land a combination throughout as the younger 20-year-old Uzbek showed brilliant defensive prowess.

Losing the first round by a clear margin, the 28-year-old southpaw tried to shift gears in the second round, amplifying his attacks from the previous showing.

However, despite the Filipino’s offensive arsenal, the Uzbek foe still rose up to the occasion.

The Olympic debutant Khabibullaev, used his reach to his advantage as the gold medallist at the 2022 Youth World Championships channeled the winning pedigree to deliver clear cut jabs to the frustrated Marcial.

By the third round, the point differential was large enough that the Filipino amateur-boxer-turned-pro needed to secure a knockout just to survive the match.

In an interview after his game, the heartbroken Marcial remained optimistic while expressing disappointment with his performance.

"Mahirap po, sa sarili ko ngayon hindi ko alam saan ako magsisimula ulit pero alam ko nandiyan ang mga Pilipino na sumusuporta sa akin at ang pamilya ko, asawa ko."

Marcial’s teammates Carlo Paalam and Hergie Bacdayan will see action later in the men’s 57kg and women’s 75kg divisions respectively.