By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipino boxing sensation Eumir Marcial proved he is still the best middleweight in Southeast Asia after winning the gold medal in the men’s boxing 75-kg category of the 2022 SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Marcial banked on his experience and momentum heading into the gold medal match and made quick work of Delio Mouzinho of Timor Leste who was stopped in the very first round.
It was the same start for Marcial when he got into a slow rhythm against Peerepat Yeasungnoen of Thailand during the semifinal round.
Mouzinho did a great job of not allowing the Filipino pug to cut the distance and fended him off with his sneaky jabs that were effective for him in the first minute of the match.
However, Marcial was able to negate his opponent’s defense and immediately poured in his offense and caught up in the scorecards of the judges.
Marcial scored the first standing eight-count when he landed a vicious right jab that went straight to Mouzinho’s jaw.
After telling the SEA Games referee that he wasn’t affected, the fight continued with Marcial stepping on the gas pedal and looking to end the fight.
The referee then officially stopped the fight and awarded Marcial with the championship title after another standing eight-count call.
Marcial put an end to Mouzinho’s stellar gold medal qualification with a solid left jab setup and the finishing right hook blow with a minute left in the first round.
With another gold medal won, Marcial successfully defended his SEA Games middleweight title and is already locked in to bounce back in the next edition of the Olympics.
