For weeks, Eumir Marcial's 20th Asian Games campaign hinged on one question: could he get through his professional fight healthy enough to make the flight to Nagoya?
On Sunday morning, Sept. 20 (Philippine time), Marcial answered it emphatically.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist stopped Omar Ulises Huerta in the third round of their eight-round middleweight bout at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California, clearing the biggest hurdle between him and a potential return to the Asian Games.
The fight was held on the undercard of Isaac Cruz vs. Nestor Bravo for the WBC interim super lightweight championship.
For the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP), the result brought a much-needed sigh of relief.
Marcial had committed to represent the Philippines in the 80kg division of the quadrennial showcase, but there were no guarantees that he would emerge untouched against Huerta, a fellow knockout artist.
ABAP president Marcus Manalo had been candid about his concerns before the clash.
"It's difficult to hope. It's very stressful to hope. I think it's unlikely already. His opponent is tough, too. If he wins, what condition will he be in? If he makes it, he will still have to deal with jet lag," Manalo said in a press statement.
Marcial erased those doubts before the ring encounter could even become a prolonged test.
From the opening bell, the 30-year-old Zamboanga City native attacked Huerta's body with authority, landing 11 body shots in the first round.
The Mexican-American responded with quick punches in the second round, but Marcial refused to give ground, continuing to press forward with punishing power shots.
By the third frame, Huerta was forced to take greater risks as the fight began slipping away. However, that proved costly.
After Huerta landed a punch, Marcial answered with a right hook that sent him crashing to the canvas.
Dazed and unable to regain his footing, Huerta could not beat referee Thomas Taylor's count of 10, prompting the stoppage at the 1:08 mark.
Marcial improved to 8-0 as a professional, with five of his victories now coming by knockout. He also dominated the punch statistics, landing 54 punches to Huerta's 27, including 38 power shots.
On the other hand, Huerta fell to 15-2-1 with 13 knockouts.
The victory could hardly have come at a more important time.
ABAP had already booked Marcial's flight from Los Angeles to Nagoya, where the boxing draw is scheduled for Sunday. Meanwhile, his first assignment is set for Sept. 23 at Nishio Gymnasium.
His arrival would give the Philippines another Olympic medalist alongside Nesthy Petecio, Aira Villegas and Carlo Paalam as the country seeks to end its Asian Games boxing gold-medal drought dating back to Rey Saludar's triumph in Guangzhou in 2010.
