WITH his focus now on his pro career, Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Felix Marcial is no longer on the Philippine Sports Commission payroll after being dropped from the national boxing team, according to a reliable source.
“The ABAP (Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines) has dropped Eumir from the national boxing team because he is more focused on his professional boxing career rather than fulfill his commitments,” the source said. “So, this is why he is no longer on the PSC payroll.”
After his third straight win as a pro, a six-round unanimous decision win over American Steven Pichardo last Oct. 8 at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson City, California, Marcial was supposed to join the team to train for the Asian boxing championships in Amman, Jordan.
But the Zamboanga City native declined the invitation to join the national squad, which is now competing in the Asian boxing meet that got under way last Tuesday in the Jordanian capital.
Marcial, who is handled by Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions headed by veteran American promoter Sean Gibbons, was last seen watching the non-title lightweight fight between former Ukrainian world champion Vasily Lomachenko and American Jamaine Ortiz at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
The fight was held last Oct. 29, as Marcial celebrated his 27th birthday.
“ABAP will now only reinstate Marcial on a ‘per tournament’ basis, meaning he will only get an allowance once he starts training for a particular competition and not while he is pursuing a professional career,” the source explained.
