EUMIR Felix Marcial — one of the country’s top boxing talents — will return to the ring alongside living legend Manny Pacquiao on July 19 as one of the undercards at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
International matchmaker and Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions’ president Sean Gibbons announced that the Tokyo Olympics’ bronze medalist will fight in an eight-round middleweight non-title bout against American Alexis Gaytan.
“I started boxing because I was so inspired by Manny Pacquiao when I was a kid,” Marcial said. “It was my dream to always fight alongside, and eventually be on a card with Manny Pacquiao.”
Marcial arrived in Los Angeles, California with other former world champions Jerwin Ancajas, Mark Magsayo and Jonas Sultan on Tuesday to join Pacquiao in training camp for his main event bout against World Boxing Council welterweight champion Mario Barrios of Mexico.
“My dream has come true. I represented the Philippines in the Olympics with pride, won the bronze, but my other dream was to fight alongside the Hall of Famer and eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. And on July 19, my dream will become a reality,” Marcial added.
Marcial sports an unbeaten 5-0 win-loss slate. His last bout was in Manila in March 2023, when he knocked out Thailand’s Thoedsak Sinam in the fourth round in front of a Filipino crowd at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Pacquiao, 46, who now trains alongside Marcial at the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles, said he would do everything it takes to help all Filipino boxers reach their full potential and turn their dreams of becoming world champions a reality.
“When I started my promotional company Manny Pacquiao Promotions, I tried to help my fellow Filipino boxers. So, I am very happy to help Eumir Marcial fight under my banner MP promotions,” Pacquiao said.
Marcial’s fight against the 30-year-old Gaytan, who holds a 17-10 record with six knockouts, is a challenging one for the Zamboanga City warrior as he has been idle for 16 months following his one-year preparation and competition during last year’s Paris Olympics.