Eumir Marcial (left) and Isaiah Hart (right) engage in a staredown after passing the weigh-in for their middleweight bout in Las Vegas. | Photo from Marcial’s Facebook page.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Marcial is ready to trade leathers with American Isaiah Hart in their non-title bout in Las Vegas, Nevada after passing the official weigh-in today, Saturday, April 9, 2022 (Friday April 8, U.S Time).
The 26-year-old Marcial weighed in at 160-pounds while Hart tipped the scales at 162.2 lbs to schedule their six-rounder middleweight bout in the undercard of Erickson Lubin-Sebastian Fundora WBC interim world super welterweight duel at the Virgins Hotel.
Marcial, who bagged a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, will make his second professional bout under the MP Promotions of Manny Pacquiao.
For the past three months, Marcial has been training alongside other MP Promotions stalwarts such as former world champion Jerwin Ancajas and reigning WBC world featherweight champion Mark Magsayo.
Marcial’s pro debut came out impressively after he beat American Andrew Whitfield in 2020 in Los Angeles via unanimous decision in their four-rounder bout.
Whitfield was the more experienced pro boxer between Marcial for having a record of four wins, three losses, and three knockouts.
For tomorrow’s bout, Marcial will go up against another experienced and taller American opponent. The 30-year-old Hart has a record of 6-2-1 (win-loss-draw) with four knockouts.
Marcial stands at 5-foot-8 while Hart clearly has the height advantage at 6-foot-2. However, Hart lost his most previous bout against fellow American Francis Hogan in July 2021 via technical knockout.
Meanwhile, Marcial hasn’t fought since his bronze medal finish in the men’s middleweight division of the Olympics’ boxing event. He faced Ukrainian Oleksandr Khyzhniak but lost via split decision. Three judges favored Khyzhniak while two picked Marcial.
Nevertheless, Marcial contributed to one of the four medals earned by the Philippines in the Olympics. Fellow boxers, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam earned a silver medal each while Hidilyn Diaz won the country’s first gold medal in the women’s weightlifting event.
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