Eumir Marcial will not compete for Team Philippines in the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, after the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines decided that the short turnaround from his professional fight would pose too great a risk to his health and safety.
ABAP president Marcus Manalo confirmed Marcial’s withdrawal shortly after the Filipino boxer scored a third-round knockout of Mexican Omar Ulises Huerta on Sunday morning (Manila time) at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.
“I spoke to Eumir right after winning his professional fight earlier. After carefully considering the situation, Eumir and I agreed that it would be better to skip the Asian Games,” Manalo said.
“It would be very hard for him to immediately transition from a professional fight in the US into long-distance travel to Nagoya with a 16-hour time difference, and then into another high-level boxing competition with such a short recovery period.”
Marcial, who was preparing for his eighth professional bout, improved to 8-0 after stopping Huerta with 1:44 left in the third round.
The victory was Marcial’s first since October 29, 2025, and extended his unbeaten professional record.
With the Asian Games looming, however, Manalo said the timing of Marcial’s return to competition made it impractical for him to make the immediate transition from the professional ranks to the continental tournament.
(c) POC-PSC Media Group
“Boxing is a physically demanding and inherently risky sport, and adequate time to rest and recover is extremely important, and we do not want to compromise Eumir’s health and safety because of the tight timeline,” Manalo said.
Marcial had been looking forward to representing the Philippines again after winning silver in the men’s boxing competition at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
“Eumir himself was very much looking forward to the opportunity to represent the flag once again. This is therefore a difficult decision for everyone involved,” Manalo said.
“However, representing the Philippines is not only about stepping into the ring. It is also about making responsible decisions that protect our athletes and allow them to have long, healthy careers.”
Marcial’s withdrawal leaves the Philippines with six boxers on its remaining Asian Games roster: Carlo Paalam (men’s 55kg), Junmilardo Ogayre (men’s 60kg), Norlan Petecio (men’s 70kg), Aira Villegas (women’s 51kg), Riza Pasuit (women’s 54kg), and Nesthy Petecio (women’s 60kg).
Marcial, meanwhile, is expected to return to national-team duty at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in December.
“His commitment to Philippine boxing and to representing the country has never been in question,” Manalo said.
“We sincerely hope for understanding that this decision was made with Eumir’s best interests in mind.”
