Nakuha ni Eumir Marcial ang mabilis na panalo na kailangan upang makalipad agad tungo sa Japan para sa 20th Asian Games.
Naitala ng Olympic bronze medalist ang third-round knockout laban kay Mexican-American Omar Ulises Huerta sa isang middleweight bout sa San Diego, California nitong Linggo.
Ngunit walang direktang flight mula San Diego patungong Nagoya at kakailanganin ni Marcial na bumiyahe nang 15 oras sakay ng connecting flight, na makababawas nang malaki sa kanyang training time.
“I spoke to Eumir right after winning his professional fight earlier. After carefully considering the situation, Eumir and I agreed that it would be better to skip the Asian Games,” ani Marcus Manalo, presidente ng Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP).
Nangyari ang knockout sa 1:54 ng ikatlong round nang bumagsak sa unang pagkakataon ng kanyang career si Huerta.
Hindi nagawang makabangon ni Huerta dahil sa hilo mula sa right hook ni Marcial.
Gayunpaman, itinuring ng ABAP na masyadong maikli ang tatlong araw na transition period mula sa kanyang professional bout patungo sa mas mabigat na Olympic-style boxing sa Asian Games.
“It would be very hard for him to immediately transition from a professional fight in the US into long-distance travel to Nagoya with a 16-hour time difference, and then into another high-level boxing competition with such a short recovery period,” ani Manalo.
“Boxing is a physically demanding and inherently risky sport, and adequate time to rest and recover is extremely important, and we do not want to compromise Eumir’s health and safety because of the tight timeline.”
Hindi rin nakakuha ng clearance ang kapalit dapat na si Weljon Mindoro matapos ma-knockout ng Mexican na si Carlos Ocampo sa California din noong Agosto 30.
Naiwan ang Pilipinas na walang boksingero sa men’s 80-kilogram division at nahaharap sa parusa mula sa Olympic Council of Asia dahil sa pag-atras nang tabing araw.
Samantala, tiniyak ni Manalo na sasali si Marcial sa Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games sa Riyadh, Saudi Arabia na gaganapin Disyembre 11 hanggang 21.