MARCIAL Eumir Felix

General
FAMILY TRAGEDY
In October 2020 his oldest brother Eliver died suddenly at age 39 in the Philippines. Eumir said the loss motivated him ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and that he hoped to be able to use his boxing career to help support Eliver's six children. "He was very supportive of me, he got married at a young age but despite our [family's financial] situation he still wanted to help me, give me money to go to school. When we had a tournament he gave me his support. I can't explain what I feel now, I'm very hurt. I can do nothing. [But] I can help his family have a better life." (boxingnewsonline, 24 Apr 2021; sports, 17 Oct 2020)

TURNING PRO
In 2020 he turned professional and began training in Los Angeles, CA, United States of America, with coach Freddie Roach. "My ultimate goal has always been to make my dad's dream a reality, a dream he has had since my first amateur fight, to win an Olympic gold medal. That is the prize I have in my eyes. I want to be the first to bring Olympic gold back to Philippines." (businessmirror, 13 Jan 2022; boxingnewsonline, 24 Apr 2021; espn, 08 Dec 2020)

RETIREMENT THOUGHTS
After falling just one win short of qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he thought of retiring from boxing and returning to his service in the Philippine Air Force. However, his fellow airmen encouraged him to continue boxing. "I wanted to stop boxing. I was very disappointed in myself. I wanted to focus on my military career. One soldier told me, in the military you would spend 20 or 25 years to become a millionaire. But in boxing, he said you can become a billionaire. Thinking about our sacrifice when I was young, I'm not going to give up." (rappler, 28 Feb 2021; SoJannelleTV YouTube channel, 22 Feb 2021)

BOXING GYM
In December 2021 he started the construction of the Eumir Marcial Boxing Gym just behind his residence in Tagaytay, Philippines. "It's a dream to have my own boxing gym, so I grabbed the chance now that I have the opportunity to build one. As a professional boxer, I really need my own boxing gym so I can train comfortably and make my job easy while I am here in the country. And more importantly, this gym is another dream come true." (businessmirror, 13 Jan 2022; sports, 06 Dec 2021)

He became the first boxer representing the Philippines to win a gold medal at the world junior championships by claiming victory in the light bantamweight category at the 2011 edition of the tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan. (SportsDeskOnline, 09 Jul 2018; Instagram profile, 02 Jul 2018)