Manny Pacquiao vs Yordenis Ugas

Filipino great Manny Pacquiao returned to the ring after more than two years away on 21 August 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where Yordenis Ugas retained the WBA welterweight title by unanimous decision over twelve rounds. Pacquiao, aged 42, weighed 146lb and entered with a record of 62-7-2. Ugas, 35, weighed 147lb and stood at 26-4. The Cuban had taken the contest on eleven days’ notice after Errol Spence Jr. withdrew with a retinal tear, while Pacquiao had originally prepared for a younger, naturally larger southpaw. Ugas instead presented a different problem: an orthodox boxer with height, reach and a measured counter-punching style. A crowd of 17,438 watched Pacquiao’s 22nd professional appearance in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao began quickly, moving in and out and throwing combinations in the opening round while Ugas kept a high guard and declined to be drawn into a fast exchange. In the second, the Cuban settled behind his jab, using his longer reach to control the distance and beginning to vary the left hand between head and body. Pacquiao responded well in the third, landing a short left and increasing his activity, but Ugas remained composed and answered with the heavier single punches. The pattern was beginning to emerge: Pacquiao threw considerably more, but Ugas was landing with greater accuracy and making the veteran work hard to get into punching range.

Ugas found increasing success with the right hand in the fourth, particularly a looping shot around Pacquiao’s guard. Pacquiao continued to attack in bursts, but he struggled to sustain his work once Ugas reset behind the jab. The fifth was closer, with Pacquiao’s activity giving him moments, yet Ugas regained control in the sixth by returning to the jab and scoring to the body. His economy was proving important. He did not attempt to match Pacquiao punch for punch, but waited for the Filipino to step inside before answering with straighter, harder shots. Pacquiao remained busy, but he was increasingly being made to pay for the effort required to close the distance.

The seventh brought more sustained exchanges and drew a strong response from the largely pro-Pacquiao crowd. Pacquiao attacked with greater urgency and tried to recapture the rhythm of his earlier years, but Ugas repeatedly checked his advances with the right hand. The Cuban then had one of his clearest rounds in the eighth, landing several heavy rights as Pacquiao struggled to get past the longer guard. Pacquiao raised his pace again in the ninth and threw in volume, though Ugas still appeared to be landing the cleaner and more damaging blows. Statistical summaries later showed that Ugas landed at a much higher percentage despite throwing far fewer punches, while Pacquiao connected on only a small fraction of his total output.

Pacquiao began the tenth with a left hand that forced Ugas to hold, but the success was brief. Ugas returned to the right hand, which had become the most reliable punch of the fight, and continued to make Pacquiao reset after each failed rush. The eleventh also favoured the champion as Pacquiao’s legs appeared less responsive and the once-familiar spring into range had diminished. Ugas did not need to take unnecessary risks. He continued to jab, held his ground when required, and waited for Pacquiao to move into the path of his right hand. Pacquiao kept trying to force exchanges, but the attacks were becoming easier to read and more difficult to sustain.

The twelfth was Ugas’s strongest closing round. He repeatedly landed the right hand, hurt Pacquiao on more than one occasion and opened a cut near the Filipino’s left eye. Pacquiao continued punching until the final bell, but there was little uncertainty about which man had finished the stronger. Referee Russell Mora had no cause to intervene at any stage, and the contest went to the judges. Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld each scored it 116-112 for Ugas, while Patricia Morse Jarman returned 115-113. The Nevada State Athletic Commission recorded the unanimous decision and confirmed that Ugas retained the WBA welterweight championship.

The defeat was Pacquiao’s first since his 2017 loss to Jeff Horn and came after the longest layoff of his professional career to that point. Ugas had accepted the assignment at short notice, but his style proved well suited to the circumstances. His greater height and reach, disciplined jab, and accurate right hand prevented Pacquiao from establishing the angles and sustaining the combinations that had characterised his best work. Pacquiao remained willing and active, but the speed of his feet no longer matched the speed of his hands, and the effort required to cross the distance left openings for the Cuban’s counters. Ugas did not overwhelm him through volume; he won through positioning, patience and accuracy.

Pacquiao said afterwards that he had done his best and would consider his future before making a decision. The bout was widely treated as a possible farewell, and the circumstances gave the night a subdued finality once the decision was announced. Although Pacquiao would later return to professional boxing, the Ugas fight marked the end of the uninterrupted championship phase of a career that had begun at flyweight and carried him through eight weight divisions. For Ugas, it was the defining victory of his career, achieved against the most celebrated opponent he had faced and by following a disciplined plan for the full twelve rounds rather than attempting to match Pacquiao’s reputation for speed and aggression.

I thought this was the night age finally caught Pacquiao. Ugas took the fight at short notice after Errol Spence Jr pulled out, but he never boxed like a substitute. He stayed disciplined, used his reach, kept the jab working and repeatedly caught Manny with the right hand.

Pacquiao still had the heart and the hand speed, but the feet were no longer getting him into position quickly enough. He threw plenty, yet too much missed or landed without authority.

The scores 115-113 and 116-112 were fair twice. Ugas deserved it completely. He did not beat the great Pacquiao of ten years earlier, but he beat the man in front of him properly, and that is all a fighter can do.