Quite The Undercard Shaping Up For Pacquiao vs Spence

Manny Pacquiao will not be the only veteran fighter performing on August 21st. Pac-Man will of course challenge the much younger, unbeaten Errol Spence in what is arguably this year’s most talked-about big fight, but there will be a couple of blasts from the past featured on the undercard in Las Vegas. Mike Coppinger reports how Victor Ortiz will face Robert Guerrero on the P-P-V offering, with a number of other fights also set to go.

Yordenis Ugas will defend his version of the WBA welterweight title against Fabian Maidana (brother of absolute ring warrior Marcos Maidana), Sebastian Fundora will meet Sergio Garcia, Jamal James will face Radzhab Butaev, and Julio Ceja will rumble with Mark Magsayo. So, with the main event included, fans could get no less than a half dozen, shall we say, interesting fights for their hard-earned cash.

In truth, Pacquiao-Spence would have sold well on its own, so big a star, so every inch a living legend 42-year-old Pacquiao is, so it’s refreshing to see how the promoters have worked to give us fans some additional value for money. Ugas is not exactly a ferociously exciting fighter, but he is one of the best welterweights in the world today, and purists like watching him. But what about Ortiz and Guerrero? Both men are way past their best and have been inactive over the past few years, yet together, who knows, they just might put on a thrilling scrap.

Ortiz, still only 34 yet a fighter who seems to have been around, at some level or another, for the longest time, is currently 32-6-3(25) and he last saw ring action in February of 2018, when he was held to a draw by Devon Alexander. It was way back in June of 2009 when “next big thing” Ortiz engaged in that multi-knockdown classic with “El Chino,” and though Ortiz got a shot at Floyd Mayweather a couple of years later (the fight that saw Floyd land THAT sucker-punch), his career never reached the heights many felt it would.

Who knows what Ortiz, who has seen his name in the papers for less than flattering reasons quite recently, has left to offer now? “Ghost” Guerrero, now aged 38 and currently 36-6-1(20) has also been around for a long time. Last fighting in September of 2019, when he won a decision over Gerald Thomas in the second of two comeback fights, the former two-weight champ looked to have been finished after suffering three straight losses in 2016/17. Like Ortiz, we have no idea how much Guerrero has left at this stage.

Again, these two vets of the sport might serve up a good action fight. The Spence-Pacquiao under-card is not what could be called a great under-card, but it certainly is a pretty varied one.