Marcial barges into gold medal match with emphatic knockout win

BANGKOK — With all the anger and frustration from the shock losses of the PH boxers to the questionable decisions from referees and judges piling up, Eumir Marcial let it all out with one devastating punch.

The Filipino Olympian unloaded a booming right hook and knocked out Vietnamese opponent Manh Cuing Nguyen to advance to the gold-medal match of the men’s 80-kilogram class in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games at the Chulalongkorn Sports Center on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

With the Filipino crowd still reeling from the shock loss of pro-boxer Weljon Mindoro in the previous bout, Marcial made sure to not leave his fate to the hand of the judges, ending the bout with 35 seconds left in the second round.

“’Di ko ineexpect yung knockout na iyon, but ginawa ko lang ‘yung best ko and ‘yun nga ‘yung naging resulta,” said Marcial, who flashed a wide smile after catching his opponent right on the chin.

“Alam ko na ‘pag ganu’n na mga knockdown, ihihinto na talaga ng referee iyon. Napa-smile lang ako siyempre kasi pasok na tayo sa finals,” he added.

It was the second time that Nguyen fell to the canvas against Marcial after the Filipino also knocked out the Vietnamese in the 2019 SEA Games and outpointed him in the 2022 Asian Games.

With the win, Marcial joined Flint Jara, Jay Brian Baricuatro and Aira Villegas in the gold-medal match.

The 30-year-old Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist will face in the finals Indonesian Maikhel Muskita, who won the gold and the silver in the 2021 and 2023 editions of the Games, respectively.

Meanwhile, Mindoro just couldn’t sustain a strong start as he struggled against the shiftier Vietnamese opponent Phuoc Tung Bui. He absorbed a unanimous 5-0 loss.

The undefeated pro-boxer landed the big hits in the opening round, but was left chasing the Vietnamese who kept his distance while landing timely counters to outpoint the Filipino. (MCO-EM)