MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine boxing delegation at the 2016 Olympics will be a party for two after Eumir Marcial crashed out of the AIBA World Olympic Qualification event with a split-decision loss in his opening bout on Saturday, June 18.
Marcial, 20, fell to Germany's Abbas Baraou by the scores of 29-28 on two cards, while a third had him winning on the third by the same score. Marcial, a two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, was seeded no. 1 and received a first round bye.
ABAP executive director Ed Picson tells Rappler that the Zamboanga City native "got sucked into fighting the German's fight" and that he experienced hand pain in the third round.
"The plan was to fight him from a distance but Eumir wanted to hurt the guy," Picson says.
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Marcial's loss comes a day after flyweight Ian Clark Bautista lost his opening fight to Spain's José Kelvin de la Nieve Linares. The Philippines had intended to send a third boxer - bantamweight Mario Fernandez - but he withdrew after suffering cataracts in his left eye.
The Philippines will send lightweight Charly Suarez and light flyweight Rogen Ladon to Rio de Janeiro after both qualified at the Asia-Oceania qualifier in April. Suarez, 27, is one of the most experienced amateurs in the Philippines while Ladon, 22, emerged in 2015 as one of the biggest surprises on the Asian scene.
The Rio Games will be the first time the Philippines will send more than one boxer to the Olympics since 2004, when they sent 4. – Rappler.com