Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao attempted to reclaim the WBA “super” welterweight title from unheralded Cuban boxing champion Yordenis Ugas, yet failed to do so.
The Filipino boxer had returned to the ring after a two-year layoff on Saturday night to fight the Olympics Bronze medalist, Ugas.
The overall result is (115-113, 116-112 x 2) in favor of Ugas. His arm length, jab, and power resulted in 59% landed punches, compared to Pacquiao’s 16% landed punches. It was an exciting fight, especially on Round 12 where they were trading jabs. However, Ugas came out to have cleaner shots and better defense than Pacquiao.
Although Bob Arum mentioned that Pacquiao may be set to fight again towards the end of the year, still Pacquiao admitted that he wasn’t sure if the fight with Ugas would be his last fight. During the post-fight interview, he said that he is having a hard time adjusting to Ugas’s style and defense and the problem started when he wasn’t able to successfully adjust.
Meanwhile, the 35-year-old Ugas has not been throwing punches in the first round, yet his punches landed more accurately. The hard shots thrown by the Cuban boxer kept on pushing Pacquiao back.
Despite the short-notice withdrawal of Pacquiao’s original opponent, Ugas wasn’t daunted to be pulled out to fight Pacquiao. Instead, he is confident that he will win the fight and send Pacquiao to his retirement. During the press conference, he threatened that he will put Pacquiao to rest and ruin his future plans in the ring.
