British soldier and boxer, Lance Corporal John Nobel Marvin, is set to represent Team Philippines as the Cruiserweight boxer in the South East Asian Games.
24-year-old John hails from Ventnor, where he has lived with his mother, Tess, and father, John (Snr). Tess was born and raised in the Philippines which provides John with a dual English and Philippines nationality and allows him to represent his mother’s home country.
Ever since John took up boxing training at his local boxing club, Ventnor ABC, in 2011, his ambition has been to box for the Philippines, in a major boxing championship; a dream that is about to come true.
The infantry soldier is from England’s most senior Infantry Regiment of the Line, the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment which has 2 regular battalions; 1 based in Paderborn, Germany and the other Dhekelia, Cyprus.
During his 6 year boxing career, John has had many successes representing the Army and is currently the 2017 Armed Forces Cruiserweight Champion. His knockout finish helped the Army win for the 34th year in a row.
John was also the Army Individual Champion in 2014 and 2015. However, despite his previous victories, the highlight of John’s 6 year boxing career is winning selection to train for Team Philippines in preparation for the upcoming games.
The games are set to take place in Kuala Lumpur this August and training is currently taking place in the mountains above Baguio City. In July, the team will fly to China where they will complete their final conditional training.
