Manny Pacquioa has managed to avoid falling prey to the only undefeated entity in sports… Father Time.
That was going to be put to the test when it was first announced that Pacqiao (62-7-2) would square off against one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world, Errol Spence Jr.
Unfortunately for fight fans, Spence Jr. had to pull out when the doctors found an eye injury (detached retina).
Yordenis Ugas (26-4) is hoping to take advantage of the opportunity that has been thrusted upon him. Ugas was supposed to appear on the undercard of the Pacquiao-Spence Jr. card but with Spence Jr. out, Ugas was asked to step in. The Cuban boxer is known as a solid counterpuncher who jumped into the minds of the casual fan in his controversial loss to Shawn Porter.
After two years off, the change might be a bless for Pacquiao. Ugas will provide a challenge in the sense that he’s a solid boxer not some bum of the week but he poses little to no threat to Pacquiao.
Ugas’ movement and angles serve him well against a conventional fighters but Pacquiao’s in-and-out style will cause Ugas a ton of problems. Pacquiao’s ability to throw punches from an unconventional angle and then disappear gave Keith Thurman all kinds of problems. It even resulted in a shocking first round knockdown by Pacquiao.
Ugas’ only chance to win the fight is if Pacquiao tires down the stretch but the trick is, Ugas can’t get tired himself because Pacquiao will win rounds on sheer activity.
Prediction:
I’ve gone back and forth on how Pacquiao will win. Ugas is a good enough fighter to force this to the scorecards especially when you consider that Pacquiao has been out of the ring for so long but since he was originally preparing for Spence Jr., you know Manny is prepared at a high level. Because of that, I’m going with Pacquiao by KO/TKO.
Photo Credit: Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions
