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| If MP Promotions founder Manny Pacquiao is OK with it, Eumir Marcial wants a rematch against Eddy Colmenares amid the controversial scores of their bout. Viva Promotions (file photo) |
MANILA--Although he did not yet know how fans watching his bout reacted to the final judges' scores, Eumir Marcial expressed openness to a second showdown against his Venezuelan opponent, Eddy Colmenares, immediately after their early Thursday match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Considering the intensity of the bout, the co-main event of the Thrilla in Manila 50th Anniversary fight card, Marcial believes the increasing fan clamor for a rematch will eventually prompt Manny Pacquiao, whose MP Promotions mainly organized the entire boxing event, to set it up eventually.
"Kung yun ang hiling ng mga tao at gagawin ni Sir Manny, why not?" Marcial said.
However, as the days go by, the discussions from the boxing circle were not mainly about how Marcial and Colmenares brawled for 30 minutes but how the judges saw the instant classic.
Marcial claimed the WBC international middleweight title by a close majority decision, but the verdict drew mixed reactions from fans watching live at "The Big Dome" or on television and streaming broadcasts.
Some fans questioned how the former Olympic bronze medalist managed to win the bout even if he was knocked down twice, the last one coming right at the final moments of Round 10.
Colmenares himself, as what the Gen Z would say whenever someone begins ranting on social media, "woke up and chose violence" after his post-match rest, claiming that he was victimized by "brazen robbery."
The allegations of the judges robbing Colmenares of the win may just further heighten the rematch clamor.
However, Marcial believes that, with or without the controversy surrounding the scorecards, the entertainment they brought to the people is already enough to make the rematch happen.
"Napasaya natin yung mga tao. Gusto kong ibalik yun dito," Marcial said, implying that he would prefer having the rematch in the Philippines again.
Regardless of how the fans reacted to the outcome, Marcial hopes that at least he made them feel a glimpse of the original "Thrilla in Manila" intensity.
"Fifty years ago, dito sa stadium, alam kong grabe ang hiyawan ng mga tao. Ngayong gabi, I hope na napasaya ko ang mga kababayan natin at naparamdam ko kung ano ang 'Thrilla in Manila' 50 years ago," Marcial further said.
In the original "Thrilla" on Oct. 1, 1975, also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier brawled for 14 rounds as expected of the already heated rivalry between the two American heavyweight legends.
While probably not as gruesome as the original battle, the Marcial-Colmenares bout could be the closest a millennial or Gen Z boxing fan would be to experiencing what it was like watching the Ali-Frazier fight live in the flesh.
However, the now-controversial final scores put a taint on what was obviously the "Fight of the Night" in the complete fight card meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original "Thrilla".
