Manny Pacquiao will be challenging replacement opponent Yordenis Ugas for his old WBA welterweight title live on Sky Sports in a non-pay-per-view fight in the UK on August 21st. While elsewhere, U.S boxing fans will be paying $74.99 to watch the Pacquiao vs. Ugas fight on FOX Sports PPV in the States.
The 42-year-old Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) wants to regain his WBA ‘Super World’ 147-lb title, which was unceremoniously stripped from him by the World Boxing Association after he’d been out of the ring for 20 months since picking up the belt in July 2019.
Pacquiao vs. Ugas will be taking place at the 18,000 seats T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It’s a tough situation for Pacquiao and Ugas, as they only have less than two weeks to prepare for this fight after Errol Spence Jr pulled out his fight with the Filipino star last Tuesday due to an eye injury.
Ugas (26-4, 12 KOs) was moved up from his co-feature spot on the card to fight Pacquiao. The 35-year-old Cuban fighter had little choice but to move up after his scheduled opponent Fabian Maidana suffered an eye injury last Monday, which removed him from the card.
“I’m absolutely delighted that Manny Pacquiao is back on Sky Sports – in an enthralling world title fight against Yordenis Ugas,” said Adam Smith of Sky Sports.
“We’ve shown many of Pacquiao’s spectacular fights – he guarantees an epic night of action – and the Filipino star has welcomed a tricky new assignment against Ugas, the skillful WBA champion.
“Can Pacquiao strengthen his legacy as one of the sport’s finest fighters, or will Ugas pull off a sensational upset in Las Vegas?
“We’ll soon find out as Sky Sports continues to bring you some of the biggest names in world boxing.”
Many fans overlook the threat that Ugas presents to Pacquiao, as they’ve never seen or heard of the talented Cuban fighter. But he’s good a better than average shot at beating Pacquiao and sending him into retirement.
With Ugas being an unknown in the eyes of the casual boxing fans, Pacquiao has very little to gain from this fight aside from a payday and a chance to regain his WBA welterweight strap.
The Filipino star won’t receive many kudos from people should he beat Ugas because it’s an obscure fighter. At least when Pacquiao was scheduled to fight Spence, he still would have come out as a winner, even if he’d lost.
As long as the 42-year-old Pacquiao had given Spence problems, the fans would celebrate him because he would have been facing the #1 welterweight on the planet.
But with Manny fighting Ugas, there’s no real gain from that fight because no one views the Cuban fighter as the #1 or even the #2 guy in the 147-lb division.
“Ugas is a great boxer; I know he’s going to prepare himself well and give it 100%,” said Guillermo Rigondeaux to Fighthub in giving Yordenis a chance against Pacquiao.
“It’s going to be a great show. They’re both taking the fight on short notice.”
“That’s a good fight because Ugas is a good boxer,” said John Riel Casimero. “I’m happy about that. For Manny, it’s good for me because Manny can win for sure 100%.
“Spence is undefeated, strong, and young. That’s a 50-50 for Manny. Ugas is not a hard puncher, but it’s good for Manny, yes,” said Casimero.
The undercard for the Pacquiao vs. Ugas fight is the weak point, as there’s nothing much to see in terms of relevant fighters.
Pacquiao-Ugas undercard:
- Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero vs. ‘Vicious’ Victor Ortiz
- Mark Magsayo vs. Julio Ceja
- Carlos Castro vs. Oscar Escandon
Guerrero and Ortiz are both former world champions, but they’ve been over the hill since 2012.