Marcial enters boxing semis

MANILA, Philippines - Eumir Felix Marcial disposed of Naraddin Mammadov of Azerbaijan, 14-9, to barge into the semifinal round of the light bantamweight division in the AIBA World Junior Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan last Wednesday.

Marcial sized up Mammadov in the first round then imposed his will in the next two to fashion out the win and assure himself of a bronze medal in the annual tournament among the world’s future stars.

He faces Vaha Eduard of Belarus Thursday for a spot in the finals at the Kazakhstan Sports Palace.

Marcial, 15, showed a lot of promise when he debuted with an 11-9 victory over Henrik Hovannisyan of Armenia.

He sustained his form against Mammadov, using his vaunted jabs to keep his rival at bay while throwing quality shots to give his supposed stronger opponent a difficult time.

“He’s getting better and that’s a good sign because our main objective really is to hone the skills of our boxers,” said Team Philippines head coach and three-time Olympian Romeo Brin.

From a 3-3 score after the first round, Marcial moved and punched a lot better in the next two rounds, enabling the teener from Zamboanga to pound out the victory.

Meanwhile, Eduard won via countback against Kramou Chemseddine in a bout that ended at 19-all.

“I’ve been studying the video of his fight. He’s aggressive but coach has been giving me tips on how to counter his style. I guess his style is very much suited for me,” said Marcial.

The Nationals’ campaign are supported by Accel, Powerade and PLDT.