MANILA, Philippines – The four Filipino boxers who opened Asian Games hostilities in Hangzhou, China on Sunday, September 24, turned in contrasting results as Eumir Marcial advanced, while Irish Magno suffered an early exit.

Marcial, a bronze medalist in the Tokyo Olympics, punched his way to the round of 16 of the men’s 80kg division after scoring a dominant unanimous decision win over Mongolia’s Dalai Ganzorig at the Hangzhou Gymnasium.

A professional boxer who owns a 4-0 record, Marcial earned identical 30-26 scores from the five judges as he reached the next round together with Mark Ashley Fajardo.

Fajardo stamped his class in the men’s 63.5kg class as he coasted to a first-round knockout of Bhutan’s Dorji Wangdi in their round of 32 bout.

Needing just under 20 seconds to secure the win, Fajardo floored Wangdi with a vicious left hook, prompting the referee to stop the fight.

Magno, another Tokyo Olympian, succumbed to Uzbekistan’s Nigina Ukmatova via unanimous decision in their round of 16 clash in the women’s 54kg.

Trailing in the scorecards since the opening round, Magno failed to close the gap as Ukmatova pulled off a 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 victory.

Magno got the boot like compatriot Aira Villegas, who lost by points against Mongolia’s Yesugen Oyuntsetseg in the women’s 50kg round of 32.

Villegas earned the nod from only one judge, with the other three scoring it for Oyuntsetseg and the fourth deciding it a tie.

Marcial faces a familiar foe in the round of 16 on September 29 as he locks horns with Nguyen Manh Cuong, the Vietnamese he knocked out to retain his middleweight crown in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in Manila.

Fajardo battles China’s Wang Xiangyang in the round of 16 on Wednesday, September 27.

Other boxing bets Nesthy Petecio (women’s 57kg), Carlo Paalam (men’s 57kg), John Marvin (men’s 92kg), Aaron Jude Bado (men’s 51kg), and Marjon Pianar (men’s 71kg) see action in the coming days.

The Asian Games boxing competitions offer direct qualification to the Paris Games next year as the finalists – the semifinalists in some weight categories – advance to the Olympics. – Rappler.com