The Philippine Online Chronicles

A young Pinoy boxer named Eumir Felix Marcial made history after emerging as the first Filipino gold medalist in the ten-year-old International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) World Championship held in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The 15-year-old Marcial snatched the gold medal in the 52-kg division with a 9-7 victory against Turkey's Cengiz Onat.

Marcial earlier solidified a semifinal win over Belarus's Eduard Vaha, and also earlier defeated Henrik Hovannisyan of Armenia and Azerbaijan Nasraddin Mammadov.

Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines chair Manny Pangilinan lauded Marcial, calling his feat “a triumph of the Pinoy spirit.”

"Eumir’s is an amazing story. Only 15, from a poor family in Zamboanga, and a national champion at his early age, he emerged a world champion in only his first trip abroad, fighting in his first international competition," Pangilinan said.

AIBA president Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu advised the organization to “take care of this kid because he has exciting potentials.” He said he hopes to see Marcial in the 2016 Olympics.