MANILA, Philippines — Eumir Marcial made light work of his first opponent in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, fashioning out a referee-stopped contest at the Kokugikan Arena on Thursday.
The last of the Filipino boxers to debut in Tokyo, Marcial took a first-round victory over Algeria's Younes Nemouchi in the Men's Middleweight Round of 16.
TRACKER: Eumir Marcial at the Tokyo Olympics
Marcial nipped the Algerian early in the bout and even knocked his opponent down.
A cut above the eye of Nemouchi turned out to be a hindrance and caused two stoppages in the fight.
With 19 seconds left in the opening round, referee Simon Radoslav halted the bout due to Nemouchi's injury.
Marcial thus moves one win away from a medal in Tokyo with a quarterfinals matchup against Armenia's Arman Darchinyan.
If Marcial wins against Darchinyan on August 1, he joins Nesthy Petecio as those already assured of a podium finish.
The Filipino pug drew a bye in the Round of 32 and thus only saw action today.