Asian boxing phenom Eumir Marcial took a remarkable 71 seconds to win gold at the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games middleweight boxing finals in the Philippines on Monday.
The 24-year-old Filipino stunned opponent Nguyen Manh Cuong of Vietnam with two brutal left straights within the first 30 seconds, prompting the referee to give a standing eight count. Marcial finished the job with a flush shot to the liver, dropping Cuong and leaving no option, but for the referee to wave the fight off at the PICC Forum, Manila.
This is Marcial's third SEA Games gold, having also won the middleweight boxing title in 2015 and 2017. The host country has now collected seven gold medals in the Games' boxing category this year.
Marcial booked a place in the final by defeating Malaysia's Che Azmi Mohd Aswan in similar fashion. The referee stopped the contest after 66 seconds of the first round as Aswan was unable to withstand Marcial's relentless punching.
Dubbed “the next Manny Pacquiao”, Marcial (amateur boxing record 35-13) won the silver at the 2019 world boxing championships in Russia in September.
The Zamboanga City native opted to postpone turning professional so he could represent the Philippines at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
