Boxer Yordenis Ugas beats Manny Pacquiao to retain WBA welterweight title

Boxer Yordenis Ugas defeated Manny Pacquiao by a unanimous decision on August 22 as he displayed an impressive technical performance on 11 days’ notice. With this win, he retained his WBA welterweight title.

Ugas (27-4) took hold of the opportunity as he was named as the injury replacement for Errol Spence Jr. He frustrated Pacquiao (67-8-2) throughout what might be the final fight of the 42-year-old Filipino senator’s career.

The 35-year-old Ugas threw roughly half as many punches as Pacquiao, but his blows were more precise and more effective and on point. Even though Pacquiao was the favorite going into the bout, the eight-division world champion struggled to get inside on Ugas’ effective jab. It was Ugas’ right hand that reigned supreme.

“I’m very excited, but most of all, I want to thank Manny Pacquiao for giving me this moment in this ring today,” Associated Press quoted Ugas as saying.

“We only had two weeks of training, but I listened to my corner and it all worked out,” he added

Two judges scored it 116-112 for Ugás, and a third had it 115-113.

A dejected Pacquiao said he hasn’t decided whether he will fight again after an unimpressive performance in his return from the longest layoff of his quarter-century in professional boxing.

He also wouldn’t confirm whether he will enter the Philippines’ presidential race, as is widely expected. He intends to make an announcement next month.

“Let me rest first before my family and I make a decision,” Pacquiao said.

“He’s a great competitor, but I came in here to show I am the champion of the WBA,” Ugas said.

“A lot of respect for him, but I won this fight.”

T-Mobile Arena was essentially sold out despite the late opponent change.

In the early rounds, Ugas’ plan bore fruit as he put his effective jab and body shots to work. Pacquiao was more aggressive and occasionally got the crowd to its feet with combinations, but he didn’t immediately find a consistent way to get inside the jab.

Ugas’ confidence grew in the middle rounds, and he responded to some action at the seventh-round bell with a defiant shimmy-shake of his shoulders in Pacquiao’s direction.

Pacquiao threw roughly twice as many punches as Ugas for long stretches, but they landed about the same number as Ugas showed off his defense and precision against Pacquiao’s activity.

While Pacquiao’s political career and the pandemic kept him out of the ring in 2020, the WBA took away the belt and awarded it to Ugas, who had won a different version of the belt in the WBA’s byzantine championship system.

(With inputs from Associated Press)