Eumir Marcial stopped Algeria’s Younes Nemouchi in the Round of 16 bouts of the 2020 Olympic Men’s Middleweight Boxing tournament due to referee’s stoppage, Thursday at the Kokugikan Arena, Thursday.
“Okay naman at medyo comfortable ako. Mas pagbubutihan ko pa sa susunod na laban,” said Marcial after his dominant performance in an interview with One Sports’ Paolo del Rosario.
The 25-year-old went to work right off the bat, taking Nemouchi to the corner in the first minutes of the match. Marcial connected on his combinations and switched from the attack and counter-punching.
Nemouchi took a blow on his right eye as a vicious left hook connected for Marcial in the dying seconds of the first round. A clash of heads happened after that.
“First, na knockdown ko siya, pero may accident na nangyari. Nakita ng doktor na malaki ‘yung cut niya. Kaya tinigil,” said Marcial, admitting that he wanted to prolong the bout to gain more mileage on his legs.
“‘Yun ‘yung plan ko kanina, kasi nung na-cut siya, medyo nag-relax ako ng konte. Gusto ko pa sana paabutin ng second round.”
The cut bled profusely, though, forcing the referee to have the medical staff check on the wound twice. The referee and the ringside physician eventually decided to stop the contest with just 19 seconds left in the first round.
The Zamboanga-native will take on Armenia’s Arman Darchinyan in the quarterfinal on Sunday, August 1 at 11:36 AM. Marcial has beaten Darchinyan before in 2018.
