Marcial goes back home to recharge

TRAINING in the United States within the span of seven months was extremely difficult for Filipino boxing Olympic bet Eumir Marcial.

Many things happened from October to May, including the death of Marcial’s brother Eliver, which led to Marcial patriarch Eulalio’s being indisposed.

The 25-year-old Marcial admitted that these events took a toll on his mental state to the point that he lost appetite to train for the Tokyo Olympics, where he will fight in the middleweight division.

“It came to the point that I [had] no appetite to train because I [was] thinking of my parents. My father, after my brother died, he became weak and got sick. He seemed indisposed,” Marcial shared during Noli Eala’s “Power and Play” program on Saturday.

Because of this, instead of joining the Philippine boxing team in Thailand for a training camp, the three-time Southeast Asian games gold medalist went back to his native Zamboanga in May to check on his family, particularly his father.

“When I went back home, my father seemed to have regained his strength. I went back home to see my parents because last year, when my brother died, I didn’t return. I stayed there (in the US) and went on with my fight,” said Marcial, who won his first professional fight in December.

“My mind is [quite] refreshed seeing my father, parents, [my] wife and my nieces. And I became like the father figure here, and they were happy to see me again. Now, when I return to training, I’m physically and mentally fit,” said Marcial, who will rejoin the Philippine boxing team in Dubai on May 21.