MANILA, Philippines – Pinoy boxer Eumir Marcial suffered a heartbreaking loss against Turabek Khabibullaev of Uzbekistan at the Round of 16 men's 80 kg division on Wednesday, July 31 (Philippine time).
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| Photo courtesy: Facebook/Eumir Marcial |
Entering the fight against the young opponent in the Paris 2024 Olympics, the 28-year-old Marcial looks confident and relaxed.
But at the end of Round 1, the Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist didn't get a good score from the judges and the 20-year-old opponent quickly set the momentum of the game.
Khabibullaev continued a good performance in the second round and got another big time score against the Pinoy boxer.
In the third round, Marcial got a sense that he was behind in the judges score and became aggressive as he tried to land a big punch.
But Marcial's time ran out and the young boxer from Uzbekistan came out on top and won by unanimous decision.
Judges score: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28.
After the shocking loss, Marcial was very emotional and called for support from Filipinos for the future of his boxing career.
"Sana po yung mga Pilipinong naniniwala pa rin sa akin sana tulungan n’yo ako ulit na bumangon at magsimula ulit kung sa professional career ko ba o mag-Olympics ako ulit," he said.
"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 added.
Marcial also accepted the defeat and did not make excuses.
"Unang-una, no excuses no. Ganun talaga. Naging mahirap and hindi natin nakuha yung panalo dahil siya yung better today,” Marcial said after the loss.
The Pinoy boxer also revealed in a Facebook post that he suffered an injury in few weeks before the match. He said it prevented him to move and do his usual training.
"Not many people know but behind the scene, I sustained an injury two weeks leading up to this match that prevented me to move and do my usual training, which also affected my mental strength and overall performance," he said.
My fighting spirit has never once wavered for the Philippines. 🇵🇭 I’m devastated and at loss for words. It’s a tough...
Posted by Eumir Marcial on Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Meanwhile, apart from Marcial, the other Pinoy boxers that can be seen in the Paris 2024 Olympics are Nesthy Petecio, Aira Villegas, Carlo Paalam and Hergie Bacyadan.
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