Marcial saves day as he wins lone PH boxing gold in Bangkok

BANGKOK — Eumir Marcial raised his fists as the bout ended — not only as a celebration of his victory but also a symbol of relief for Philippine boxers who, for the entire week, have been battered by questionable decisions and unfair judgment.

The Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist finally ended the string of futility for Pinoy pugs, taking down Maikhel Muskita of Indonesia 4-1 and bagging the gold medal in the men’s 80kg final of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games at the Chulalongkorn University Sports Center on Friday. 

The gold medal was Marcial’s fifth overall and enabled the Philippine team to end the competition with one gold, three silvers and six bronzes.

With both fighters tied after two rounds, Marcial went for the kill in the final frame, hurting the Indonesian with a big right that put him on the ropes.

The 30-year-old Marcial followed it up with a barrage of punches that proved to be the deciding point for the precious mint and helped the PH boxing team avoid a gold-less campaign here. 

“Di ko inie-expect talagaa. Di ko inaasahan na makasali ako dito at makuha ko iyong ika-limang gold medal ko sa SEA Games. Di lang to para sa akin. Para sa buong bayan ito at sa Philippine boxing team, para sa amin po itong lahat,” he said. 

Villegas, the 2024 Olympics bronze medalist mustered all her might and slugged it out against her Thai opponent but just couldn’t rally back into the contest after trailing in the first two rounds. 

Villegas found herself surprisingly at the backseat after a close 3-2 scoring in the first round — an opportunity which Raksat made sure to pounce on as she landed the cleaner hits in the second round. 

Despite the loss, Villegas was pretty much content with what she had achieved and wholeheartedly accepted the decision. For one, it was still an improvement to the bronze medal she won in the 2019 edition of the Games. 

“Hindi pa binigay ni God so siguro marami pang kulang pero hindi pa doon natatapos ang lahat,” said Villegas. 

“Lahat ng nasa desisyon sa baba, sa referee, si God na ang bahala. Ako ‘yung bahala sa taas ng ring. Si God na po ang bahala sa desisyon, kung ibibigay niya o hindi tatanggapin ko ng maluwag,” she stressed.