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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 17) – Filipino boxer Eumir Marcial started his professional boxing career on a high note with a unanimous decision victory over Andrew Whitfield at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles, California on Thursday (Philippine time).
The 25-year-old boxer from Zamboanga dominated the 29-year-old Idaho native in the four-round bout as he landed 120 of the 310 total punches he threw, compared to his opponent’s 46 punches. All three fight judges scored 40-36 in favor of Marcial.
Marcial unleashed his power against Whitfield early in the first round after landing 11 clean shots to mark a solid start to the match.
In the second round, Marcial landed a strong left that nearly caused a knockdown for Whitfield. The strength of the American’s body was so strong that it prevented him from being knocked down as he continued to fight the Filipino. Despite the brutal blow, the Idaho native kept climbing over his opponent.
Whitfield’s agility was not enough. In the third round, the area under his right eye began to swell, affecting his overall performance for the next three minutes. It turned out to be an advantage for Marcial as his punches landed well against Whitfield’s high body defense.
Whitfield’s right eye was nearly swollen when the bell rang in the final round, where Marcial fought like he was in a target practice session and waiting for his victory to be formalized. With the loss, the American now has a 3-2 record (2 KOs).
“I couldn’t train for a long time due to the pandemic, so it was a struggle to get proper conditioning. I’m happy they didn’t give me an opponent who just goes down,” reflected the Filipino middleweight. after the fight.
Marcial trained under the tutelage of famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach at the esteemed Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. He’s also under the MP promotions of eight-time world boxing champion and senator Manny Pacquiao, one of Roach’s most treasured fighters.
Marcial’s professional debut was part of his training for the Tokyo Olympics postponed by the pandemic, where he is one of two Filipino boxers who are already qualified.
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