SPORTS SHORTS 44: YORDENIS UGAS WANTS MANNY PACQUIAO TOO, GOLDEN BOY PREZ SAYS RYAN GARCIA VS. TEOFIMO LOPEZ IS MORE FEASIBLE
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 03 Feb 2021
Yordenis Ugas has been upgraded to the full WBA "super" welterweight titleholder. He admitted that the eight-division champion will always be champion in the heart of the fans who wants to see the welterweight championship belts unified. "Pacquiao is a legend and he will always be champion, his intention was [Conor McGregor] and now Ryan [Garcia], but you cannot hijack a championship," Ugas was quoted by SkySports.
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Ugas (26-4, 12 KOs), age 34 years of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, dared Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) of General Santos City and Sarangani for a match to prove who is the true WBA welterweight champion. "This gives fans a chance to see a great unification fight at 147lbs. I don't want this position for easy fights," added the 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medalist.
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The 2005 World Championships gold medalist said his team is ready for a fight with Pacquiao or any of the champions available for unification. "My team has my consent for my next fight to fight Pacquiao if he wants to show who he is the true WBA champion or another of the champions for a great unification fight," Ugas continue. "I am a warrior committed to his career and to his fans, who have fought and earned every penny and every opportunity."
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Golden Boy president Eric Gomez has publicly announced over ESPN that the fight between their fighter Ryan Garcia against Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao isn’t going to happen. Despite all of the negotiations and brouhaha of a potential fight between WBC interim lightweight champion Ryan Garcia and WBA "champion in recess" Manny Pacquiao hugging the sports headlines, Gomez said "don’t get your hopes up."
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“There’s nothing to talk about there. They contacted us, but it turns out there’s nothing to talk about. That fight isn’t going to happen.” Some of Team Garcia’s negotiators said they are still hoping the fight to happen, but Golden Boy thinks otherwise and instead say that Garcia fighting Teofimo Lopez is more realistic after a recent meeting with Top Rank boss Bob Arum. "Teofimo is more feasible. It’s one of the fights that’s obviously of interest to Ryan Garcia. It could be a great fight," added Gomez.
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Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs), age 22 years of Victorville, California, USA, has since been talking about a possible fight against Gervonta Davis (24-0, 23 KOs), age 26 years of Baltimore, Maryland, USA, who holds the WBA" Super" world super featherweight title and the WBA world lightweight title. Then he saw some resistance and Garcia diverted his attention to Pacquiao. However, Golden Boy is not interested in supporting that fight, Garcia has to shift his focus somewhere else. The promotions firm wants Garcia to face Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs), age 23 years of Brooklyn, New York, United States.
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Garcia's agent Valencia Guadalupe told ESPN late last month and was quoted by Michael Benson of TalkSport. "We're discussing terms. Manny and Ryan want it and instructed their teams to make it happen. That's what we're trying to accomplish," said Valencia. The young boxer's advisor disclosed that the pair most likely will meet either on April 24 or May 1 and not on the original suggested date of September 1. This is probably because both fighters will want to engage in other fights at the end of the year. The discussions on whether to conduct an actual fight or an exhibition are still going on according to Valencia.
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Paradigm Sports, the management agency that exclusively represents Manny Pacquiao, threatened to file legal action against "shady characters" who falsely claim to be the manager of the boxer-turned-senator and negotiate on his behalf. Audie A. Attar, the founder and chief executive of Paradigm Sports, said Sunday that they are aware of "false and inaccurate rumors that are self-serving, without the authority of Senator Pacquiao or Paradigm Sports." Attar, in a public statement, clarified that Paradigm Sports remain Pacquiao's "exclusive representation," and the Filipino sports icon "wants to close out the final chapters of his historic boxing career in a meaningful way."
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The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) conducted the draw for the Tokyo Olympics men’s basketball competition virtually Tuesday from its headquarters in Mies, Switzerland. The defending gold medalists, the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team was drawn in Group A together with 2019 FIBA World Cup bronze medalist France, 2017 Asia Cup runner-up Iran, and the winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Victoria, Canada. Olympic preliminary round games will be held July 25-Aug. 1.
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The men's basketball is a 12-nation tournament. Australia, Nigeria, the winners of the Olympic qualifying tournaments in Belgrade, Serbia, and Split, Croatia, are in Group B. Argentina, host Japan, 2019 World Cup champion Spain, and the winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Kaunas, Lithuania, are in Group C. The Americans will open Olympic preliminary round on Sunday, July 25 against France, then will play Iran on July 28 and will end preliminary round play on July 31 against the winner of the Canada Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
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