Eumir Felix Marcial, 27, the Philippines’ 2020 middleweight Olympic bronze medalist, is making his first foray into the land of the eight-rounders this Saturday, Feb. 11, in San Antonio’s Alamodome, on the undercard of the O’Shaquie Foster – Rey Vargas WBO world jr. lightweight title battle, which will be televised live on Showtime.
A native of Zamboanga, Philippines, Marcial (3-0, 1 KO), who trains in Las Vegas with head coach Jorge Capetillo, will be taking on battle-tested veteran Ricardo Ruben Villalba (20-7-1, 8 KOs), from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Villalba’s trophy case includes the WBO Latino and the WBO Asia super welterweight titles.
Since making his professional debut in 2020, Marcial has run the table, defeating Andrew Whitfield and Steven Pichardo by unanimous decision and stopping Isiah Hart in the fourth round, balancing those fights with his amateur career, which has included training for numerous tournaments and the Tokyo Olympics.
In the Hart battle, which was Marcial’s second professional bout, the Filipino warrior displayed the composure of a seasoned veteran to score a TKO of Hart (6-3-1, 4 KOs), at the 47-second mark of the fourth-round despite getting knocked down three times himself, once in the first round and twice in the second round, in a firefight bout scheduled for six rounds. That’s a lot of experience to get for a fighter in only his second professional fight. Whitfield, Hart, and Pichardo boasted a combined record of 17-5-1, 8 KOs, when they fought Marcial.
“Eumir has had a terrific training camp, and after consulting with Señor Capetillo, it was decided that Eumir was ready to move up to the eight-round level,” said Sean Gibbons, President of MP Promotions. “Ricardo Villalba represents a big step up in opposition for Eumir in terms of talent and experience. But we are confident Eumir will pass this test with flying colors. We are very excited for him.”
After winning his pro debut — a four-round unanimous decision over Andrew Whitfield in Los Angeles on Dec. 16, 2020 — Marcial turned his attention to getting prepared for the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. In one of the most exciting bouts of the 2021 summer games, Marcial and top-seeded Oleksandr Khyzhniak, of Ukraine, battled tooth and nail in their semifinal battle. Khyzhniak, who would move on to win the Silver medal, pulled it out in the third and final round by the narrowest of margins. Marcial won the Bronze. Another high-water mark in Marcial’s amateur career was capturing a Silver medal at the 2019 World Boxing Championships.