Sparmate for Manny, Ugas speaks out
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 19 Aug 2021
LAS VEGAS. There’s something unique about California southpaw Maurice Lee. He sparred with Manny Pacquiao early in his training camp at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles when WBC/IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence was still in the fight at the T-Mobile Arena here this Saturday (Sunday morning, Manila time). After Spence backed out with a torn retina in his left eye, WBA “super” titlist Yordenis Ugas was named as his replacement to face Pacquiao and hired Lee for a sparring session.
Spence is a left-hander so Pacquiao sparred with southpaws like Lee. Since Ugas is an orthodox fighter, Pacquiao brought in right-handers Arnold Gonzalez and Abraham (Abie) Lopez as sparmates. Ugas was set to battle right-hander Fabian Maidana in the Pacquiao undercard but with his elevation to the main event, he recruited southpaw sparmates and Lee was a perfect choice particularly with his experience in the Filipino’s camp. It wasn’t as if Lee came in as a spy. He left Pacquiao’s camp a free agent and sparred with Ugas only once.
Lee said he took on sparring jobs with Pacquiao and Ugas to get ready for a fight on Aug. 27 but he fractured a bone in training and has been sidelined. He leaves for France this week and will miss watching the Pacquiao-Ugas bout in the venue. “I’ll catch it on-line, I’ll be tuning in and I’m going for Pacquiao to get the victory,” he said.
Lee had the opportunity to size up both Pacquiao and Ugas in the ring. “From my experience sparring with Pacquiao and Ugas, I think Pacquiao’s the better fighter and he’s going to win the fight,” he said. “I only sparred with Ugas one time. As for Ugas’ overhand right, I feel he throws just one shot at a time, he’s very predictable. Pacquiao’s versatile and he throws from different angles. He’s very fast and he’ll swarm Ugas.”
Whether Pacquiao will win by a knockout or on points, Lee said it’s difficult to predict. “I don’t know if it’ll be a KO for Pacquiao but it’s possible he’ll knock out Ugas,” he said. “You know boxing, one shot can change everything. Ugas is a strong champion. It’s going to be a good fight.”
Lee, 29, hasn’t fought since September 2019 and totes a 12-1-2 record, with five KOs. He’s unbeaten in his last seven outings although two were draws. Lee was Floyd Mayweather’s chief sparmate when he prepared for Pacquiao and Conor McGregor. “The only weakness I see that Pacquiao could have is if he doesn’t execute his gameplan,” said Lee.
Pacquiao wound up his sparring program in a four-round session with Lopez last Saturday. It was more a test of Pacquiao’s ability to take a punch as he allowed Lopez to tee off, opening up only in short bursts. Lopez was also in Pacquiao’s training camp for Keith Thurman in 2019. Lopez has a 10-3-1 record, with 3 KOs.
Photo: Manny Pacquiao (C) and his entourage at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021.
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