Freddie Roach will try to make another king.
Eumir Marcial is set to be under the tutelage of the esteemed American mentor for the next few months, as he juggles being a professional boxer and a national team athlete.
“Sobrang excited sir kasi alam naman natin ang kalidad ng pagtuturo ni Coach Freddie, lalo kay Sir Manny [Pacquiao],” Marcial said in an online press conference organized by his backer Big Boss Cement.
“Gaganahan kang mag-ensayo lalo’t ang tutulong sa ‘yo ‘yung professional talaga.”
It has been written in the books how fruitful the partnership of Roach and Pacquiao turned out to be.
Pacquiao is the world’s only eight-division world champion and has found a new fire after reuniting with Roach last year.
In a controversial move, the 24-year-old native of Lunzuran, Zamboanga City — who leaves for Los Angeles on Wednesday — turned pro last July, signing with MP Promotions.
Many questioned whether this will affect Marcial’s mindset heading into the Tokyo Olympics next year.
MP Promotions chief Sean Gibbons stressed that that won’t be the case.
“Our first goal with Eumir is to come here and work under the tutelage of Mr. Freddie Roach to really get better and focus on the Olympics.
“The professional debut, that’s just a process of him getting better going towards the Olympics,” he said, as Marcial is slated to make his pro debut next month.
Another positive of training in the US is that he gets to train with pugilists bigger than him.
It is hard to actually find a legit middleweight here.
“Kasi alam niyo dito sa Pilipinas, mga ka-sparring ko maliliit. Ang mga kasama ko nagrereklamo na nga, kasi ang laki-laki ko,” quipped Marcial.
For Gibbons, they are not here to wreck Marcial’s chance of winning the country’s first-ever Olympic goal.
“It’s been Eumir’s dream, his father’s dream. I’m part of the dream to win a gold for the Philippines, which has never been done in the history of the country.”
