After a tougher than expected second pro outing, Eumir Marcial returns to the Philippines on Wednesday to rejoin the national team for the Southeast Asian Games.

Marcial, 26, will once again represent his homeland at the SEA Games, which will take place from May 12 to 23 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Marcial (2-0, 1 knockout) has been dominant in the regional Olympic-style competition, winning gold medals at the 2015, 2017 and 2019 events.

The Filipino middleweight admits that his most recent outing, a fourth round technical knockout win over Isiah Hart, was an eye-opening experience. Marcial was dropped three times in the six-round bout before coming back to score a stoppage of Hart (6-3-1, 4 KOs) on the Fundora-Lubin undercard in Las Vegas.

“I was happy that I won Saturday night against Isiah Hart. I need to go back to the drawing board and fix a few things and I will be back stronger,” admitted Marcial, who won a bronze at the 2020 Olympics and silver at the 2019 World Championships. Marcial has voiced his interest in returning to the Olympics in 2024 at the Paris Games.

Marcial, who now trains with Jorge Capetillo in Las Vegas, will rest for a few days in the Philippines before joining the national team’s training camp in Thailand.

MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons looks at the silver lining to Marcial’s sophomore outing.

“They say you truly don’t know a man until his is knocked down, and in Eumir’s case it was three times, and how they get up. Well, we found out that Eumir has tremendous Filipino heart and his will to win emanates from it,” said Gibbons, who adds that Marcial is expected to have his third pro bout in July or August.

Joining Marcial at the SEA Games are two of the other three Olympians who competed at the Tokyo Games, including silver medalist Nesthy Petecio, and Irish Magno. Silver medalist Carlo Paalam will not be competing, and will be replaced by Rogen Ladon, who competed in the 2016 Olympics.

The SEA Games is a minor tournament as far as boxing is concerned, with the Philippines winning gold in 5 of the 8 categories when they hosted the event in 2019. The 2021 SEA Games were delayed from last November due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why they are taking place this year.

In addition to the Philippines and the host nation, nine other countries will be competing in the SEA Games, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.

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