Marcial bags Phl 1st gold in world jr boxing

ASTANA, Kazakhstan – Zamboanga lad Eumir Felix Marcial made history last night in becoming the first Filipino to win a gold medal in the AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships.

Marcial overcame Turkish Cengiz Onat, 9-7, in a slam-bang final bout, gaining top podium honors in the light bantamweight division at the close of the junior world slugfest at the Kazakhstan Sports Palace here.

The 15-year-old Filipino took control with a variety of combinations and whooped it up with coach Romeo Brin after being declared gold medal winner in the biennial meet featuring the best and finest junior fighters on the planet.

Marcial was among the most outstanding winners with his championship run spiked by his knockout win over Vaha Eduard of Belarus in the semifinals Friday.

The rangy Filipino stopped Eduard in the opening round, instantly making him the favored bet to win the 52kg division.

Onat arranged a final duel with Marcial in defeating Korean slugger Sang Myeong Hang, 17-10.

Marcial gained so much adulation from the crowd when he floored Eduard with a perfectly timed right hook making the Belarusian stumble forward.

Eduard got up at the count of five but the referee waved off the fight after the mandatory eight count at the 1:22 mark with the Belarusian still wobbly at that point.

Onat proved to be a tougher foe but Marcial coped, being flashier and more aggressive.

Marcial led 3-2 after the first round and 6-5 after the second round.

With a two-point lead, Marcial danced away from Onat in the closing seconds and raised his left hand at the bell, knowing he won the bout.

Of the 48 nations that participated in this major event, 15 were able to send boxers to the finals. Curiously, 12 fighters each from Asia and Europe made the gold-medal bouts.

The Philippine team was backed by Accel, Powerade and PLDT.