MANILA, Philippines – Eumir Marcial showed he is ready for the Paris Olympics by knocking out Thailand's Thodosak Sinam in his homecoming match Saturday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Martial's fifth professional bout ended quickly and brutally when the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist connected with a well-timed left uppercut that left the Thai master on the canvas for several minutes.
Marcial, who improved his professional record to 5-0 (3 KOs), said in Filipino, „This fight has great meaning for my preparation for the Paris Olympics.''
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„I'm happy with my performance, because I wanted to get the knockout and I got that,“ he added. „In the second round, I was trying to hit him with an uppercut to the jaw. I told myself that the moment I hit that uppercut, the fight would be over. That's what we were looking for the whole fight. Yes, we were successful.”
But while Martial's uppercut was the deciding factor, it was his consistent jab from the start that delivered the knockout.
„Our plan was to use the jab more. My sparring partners in America used the jab very well, but I had a hard time hitting them. So we decided to use that strategy. „I wanted to use more jabs and the knockouts would come,“ he said.
Martial also knows how important being skilled with the jab is, especially on the international stage.
„In the Olympics, a Cuban athlete from Central America can win a match just by using a jab. And that's what we practice, too.“
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In his first home match since the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, where he won gold, Martial was all smiles as he made his ring walk to the cheers of the crowd.
„I never expected it to feel like that and to have so much support from the crowd,“ he said.
“I hope to compete again here in the Philippines.”
Martial, 28, will take a week off before leaving for the United States in April to continue his training in Paris.