Manny Pacquaio vs Yordenis Ugas preview

Manny Pacquiao, one of the best.

Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao fights Yordenis Ugas this weekend in Las Vegas. 

The fight was originally meant to be against Errol Spence Jr but the American had to pull out due to an eye injury which is a massive shame. Never the less, Ugas is a solid boxer to bring in at such short notice.. mainly because he was on the undercard but still. Ugas is a 35 year old orthodox fighter from Cuba, with a record of 26 wins and 4 defeats.

Now I originally was writing this article for the Spence fight but even without him this still works as I want to take you all on the Manny Pacquiao journey & explain why he’s one of the greatest boxers off all time & win lose or draw this weekend he will still cement a massive legacy in boxing forever.

Rewind almost 30 years ago and we see a young, poor Filipino who dropped out of high school due to extreme poverty & at 14 moved to the capital Manilla working in construction & joined the Philippines national amateur boxing team where his room & board were paid for by the govourment. He reportedly had 60 amateur wins and just 4 defeats. At the age of 15 he was considered the best amateur In the country & at 16 he made his professional debut.

 Arguably one of if not the best southpaw in boxing history, Manny has a pro record of 62 wins, 7 defeats & 2 draws to his name. With 12 major belts/tittles to his name in 8, yes EIGHT different weight classes and is also the only boxer in history to win a world tittle in 4 different decades ( 90’s 20’s 2010’s, 2020s ). Just incredible.

If that’s not enough, he has defeated 22 champions including the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Cotto, Bradley, Broner, Thurman, Barrera twice amongst many other talented boxers. He has had some defeats mind, most notably to Floyd Mayweather Jr in what was built up as the fight of the decade and was sadly a snooze fest in which it was evident both were past their best especially Manny.

Pac-man is someone that also does a lot of charitable work for the Philippines & in 2017 announced his intention to campaign for a seat on Philippine house of representatives after always holding an interest in politics.

Under the guidance of legendary trainer Freddie Roach, Pacquaio became known for his punch velocity in which at one point he was throwing over 100 punches a round over a 12 round bout. Add that with his immense stamina, his one punch power & his combinations of hooks, uppercuts & off-angle

 punches he turned from a one dimensional fighter to someone who possessed everything.

Against Errol Spence Jr he would off been the underdog but everyone expects a dominant Pacquaio win in the early hours of the morning for us UK fight fans.

Where to watch, stream & start time
You can watch the event live in the UK on Sky Sports from 1am