The Philippine boxing team is facing the prospect of competing in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, without one of its best medal hopes—Eumir Marcial. In fact, he could be the country’s best bet to break the Philippines’ gold-medal drought in the quadrennial regional meet.
According to ABAP president Marcus Manalo, the two-time Olympian is likely to be excluded from the national team because he is in line for a professional fight on September 19 at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California. That bout would take place just four days before the start of boxing competitions in Nagoya on September 23—too close for comfort, at least in Manalo’s view.
Eumir Marcial Isn’t Turning His Back
Manalo clarified that Eumir Marcial himself has not begged off from joining the team bound for Nagoya. In fact, the Zamboanga native is more than willing to fly to Japan right after fulfilling his professional obligations in California—if the fight materializes.
“Eumir isn’t closing the door on the Asian Games and is willing to fly to Nagoya in time for his first fight,” said Manalo. “The draw is on September 20 and Eumir’s opening bout is on September 23. I think it’s too tight. The circumstances aren’t favorable. There’s no guarantee that Eumir will do an easy fight on September 19. What if he suffers an injury or a cut that won’t make him ready to fight in Nagoya? No need to force it.”
Nothing is set in stone yet, but if Manalo has his way, he would rather Marcial focus on his professional fight instead.
“My advice is if Eumir’s pro fight is confirmed, to focus on the pros. There’s a big difference in how you fight in the pros and the Olympic style. It’s like the difference in training for a middle-distance runner and a sprinter,” Manalo noted.
A Pro for a Pro?
Even as Manalo awaits confirmation on Eumir Marcial’s next step, he already has a backup plan in case the veteran does get that September 19 fight. That Plan B is to replace Marcial with another pro—Weljon Mindoro, who is 17-0-1 with 16 KOs and no stranger to representing the country, having won bronze at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand.
“In our long list of entries by name for the Asian Games, we included Weljon,” Manalo said. “There’s a possibility that if we’re unable to send a fighter in Eumir’s weight class, OCA may sanction POC. Weljon has a pro fight in Los Angeles on August 29 but there’s time for him to join our camps in Bangkok and Japan before the Asian Games.”
Notably, that fight is against Carlos Ocampo of Mexico—and it could be career-defining for Mindoro. It could also be extremely challenging for the emerging contender, with the fight possibly turning into a slugfest as Ocampo boasts 26 KOs in his 38 wins (as against only 4 defeats).
That being the case, Manalo may need to prepare a Plan C just in case.
