Marcial downs Armenian in AIBA world junior debut

MANILA, Philippines - Eumir Felix Marcial put in an impressive show in his debut, beating Henrik Hovannisyan of Armenia, 11-9, to kick off Team Philippines’ campaign in the AIBA World Junior Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan Monday.

The left-handed Marcial, 15, sized up Hovannisyan with his right jabs and moved around the ring effectively then scored with his combination of punches to the head and body en route to victory in their 52kg encounter.

Immediately after the victory, Australian coach Gareth Williams and his team manager Mark Wilson surprisingly went inside the locker room to congratulate Marcial.

“He’s such a talented fighter for his age. He punches hard and uses the ring intelligently,” said Williams.

Marcial posted a 5-3 lead after the first round amid cheers from European and Arab fans but his fellow lefty Armenian foe came back strong in the second with wild lefts.

Marcial unleashed a solid right hook late in the second round, resulting to a standing eight-count although the Armenian fighter held on to an 8-all count entering the third round.

“That was the only time I got nervous, when coach told me the score was tied after two rounds. But when the bell rang I regained my focus and was more bent on beating my opponent,” said Marcial, a Zamboanga native.

In the final canto, Marcial jarred Hovannisyan with another right hook for a second standing eight count then pressed his bid with his right-left combination to fashion out the two-point win.

The win sent Marcial to the quarterfinals against Nasraddin Mammadov of Azerbaijan, who earlier defeated Stanislav Gatsko of Ukraine, 17-7.

Meantime, pinweight Rence Bryan Magarce debuts against Russian Denis Chmykhin Tuesday night.

The four-man Philippine team is coached by three-time Olympian Romeo Brin and backed by PLDT, Accel and Powerade.