Eumir Marcial continued his climb in the middleweight ranks with a third-round technical knockout of Bernard Joseph on Saturday, July 19 (Sunday, July 20, Philippine time) in the curtain-raiser of the Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios tussle for the World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight belt at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist unloaded three solid lefts to the head to finish off the Boston, Massachusetts, resident at the 1 minute and 55 seconds mark and tally his sixth straight win, four by knockout, since turning pro in 2020.

After trading bombs with Joseph in the first round, Marcial landed a barrage of hard punches, capped by a hook, in the second round for the first knockdown of the scheduled 8-rounder.

The American beat the count and even sneaked in a right hook that jolted Marcial, but couldn’t match the Zamboanguenos’ power and fell to 11-3-2 with five knockouts.

Although unfamiliar with the style of Joseph, a late substitute for Alexis Gaytan, Marcial had little trouble connecting with his jabs and dictating the course of the fight.

The 29-year-old Marcial checked in at 162 pounds, slightly heavier than Joseph, who weighed 161.8.

“Nag-pacing talaga ako sa second round (I paced myself in the second round),” said Marcial, one of the bright hopes of MP Promotions headed by Sean Gibbons.