SPORTS SHORTS 200: MANNY PACQUIAO VS. YORDENIS UGAS TALE OF THE TAPE
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 21 Aug 2021
Manny Pacquiao vs. Yordenis Ugas is billed as "The Legend vs. The Olympian" is the welterweight title match between former eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao, and current WBA (Super) champion, Yordenis Ugas scheduled on August 21, 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
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Manny Pacquiao was a frail kid who sold donuts on the streets to help provide for his impoverished family. He fought professionally for money that he had to place rocks in his pockets to get the minimum required weight, and then successfully won eight weight division titles and became one of the richest boxers in history.
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Ugas defected from Cuba and was in the open sea for two days in a small little boat with the big waves. He thought was going to die. The small raft brought him from Cuba to Mexico. Then he made his way to Miami, where many Cuban defectors have settled there over the past few decades.
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Ugas lived in the United States with little money and lonely. He would go to McDonald's and order a dollar-menu apple pie, sometimes as many as seven. It was the only meal he could afford that would offer relief for his hunger. Later he was signed by Top Rank and became successful in his professional career.
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"I have come to prepare for 12 hard rounds," Ugas said in the press conference.
"I think for Thurman on my every day training, I did 25 rounds, 28 rounds a day, but this time I did 30 rounds, 32 rounds sometimes 31 rounds," Pacquiao replied.
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A muscular and strong looking Manny Pacquiao weighed in at 146 lbs at the weigh-in for his title fight against WBA (Super) world welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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Ugas weighed in at the limit at 147 lbs and looked thin with his face seen as if he had a hard time scaling down to the 147 lb limit. Tomorrow it could be proven if his performance will be affected by the effort Ugas exerted to make weight.
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Yordenis Ugas
Career record: 26 wins, 4 losses, 0 draw, 12 wins by KO, 0 loss by KO
Total fights: 30
Rounds: 196
KOs: 40%
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Manny Pacquiao
Career record: 62 wins, 7 losses, 2 draws, 39 wins by KO, 3 losses by KO
Total fights: 71
Rounds: 486
KOs: 54.93%
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Yordenis Ugas
Age: 35
Nationality: Cuba
Stance: orthodox
Height: 5′ 9″ (175cm)
Reach: 69″ (175cm)
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Manny Pacquiao
Age: 42
Nationality: Philippines
Stance: southpaw
Height: 5′ 5½″ (166cm)
Reach: 67″ (170cm)
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Birth name: Yordenis Ugas Hernandez
Alias: 54 Milagros
Professional career: 2010-2020
Debut: July 9, 2010
Residence: Miami, Florida, USA
Birth place: Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
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WBA (Super) welterweight champion
WBA (Regular) welterweight champion
Gold medalist lightweight division at the 2005 World Championships
Bronze medalist lightweight division at the 2008 Olympics
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Birth name: Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao
Alias: Pac Man
Professional career: 1995-2019
Debut: January 22, 1995
Residence: General Santos City, Cotabato del Sur, Philippines
Birth place: Kibawe, Bukidnon, Philippines
* * *
Major world titles:
WBC flyweight champion
IBF super bantamweight champion
WBC super featherweight champion
WBC lightweight champion
WBO welterweight champion (3×)
WBA (Regular) welterweight champion
WBA (Super) welterweight champion
WBC super welterweight champion
* * *
Regional/International titles:
OPBF flyweight champion
WBC International super bantamweight champion
WBC International super featherweight champion
WBO International welterweight champion
* * *
Minor world titles:
IBO light welterweight champion
The Ring magazine titles:
The Ring featherweight champion
The Ring super featherweight champion
The Ring light welterweight champion
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The Ring welterweight ratings:
Pacquiao No. 3
Ugas No. 5
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ESPN welterweight ratings:
Pacquiao No. 3
Ugas No. 6
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Transnational Boxing Rankings Board welterweight ratings:
Ugas No. 4
Pacquiao inactive
* * *
BoxRec welterweight ratings:
Ugas No. 5
Pacquiao inactive
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Pacquiao was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council (WBC), and World Boxing Organization (WBO). In 2006, 2008, and 2009, he was awarded Ring magazine, ESPN and BWAA's Fighter of the Year.
* * *
Pacquiao: “My title was given to Ugas. That is not how you become a champion. You earn it by winning it inside the ring. We will fight for the title. That is the proper way a champion is crowned. In the end, I want to win the belts."
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Pacquiao : "I’m so excited for this championship fight and I don’t care if I’m the challenger or champion coming into it. I am excited to win another world championship on Saturday. I don’t care who has the belt right now. We’ll see who walks out of the ring with it.”
* * *
Ugas: “I’m well aware that Pacquiao is the favorite. But at the same time, I’m a champion. Since I came back five years ago, I’ve overcome so much. I’ve faced so many strong opponents in order to get to where I am today. I have full confidence in myself and my ability to get a victory."
* * *
Ugas: “When I went away from boxing, I was focused on family and spending time with my son. At that time, I never thought I would be defending a title against Manny Pacquiao. But for the past five years I’ve been one of the most active and successful boxers out there and I’m ready to prove myself once again.”
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The free TV telecast of the Pacquiao-Ugas bout will air on GMA, TV5, and CNN Philippines on Sunday starting at 11 am but will be delayed. For live television broadcast, pay-per-view services are available for P750 for both SkyCable and Cignal.
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“Ugas is going to look to counter Manny and hope that Manny makes some mistakes and come in a little reckless, which he does sometimes,” said Teddy Atlas on boxingnews24.com.
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“So, I’m going to look for Manny Pacquiao to outhustle, outwork, outperform Ugas in a good fight, in a competitive fight, and I’m looking for Manny to win a unanimous decision," added Atlas.
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“Pacquiao loves to fight guys who like to work in that straight line, so that he can explode with his combinations on a stationary target. Ugas does that a lot,” said Timothy Bradley. “I see Ugas getting knocked down in this fight at least once, maybe even twice. He will get up, he will fight back, and I believe that he will survive.”
* * *
Sporting News provides the current betting odds on Pacquiao-Ugas:
Pacquiao vs. Ugas Odds
Manny Pacquiao: -430
Yordenis Ugas: +300
Draw: +2000
* * *
Pacquiao vs. Ugas prop bets
Pacquiao by (T)KO: +165
Pacquiao by decision: +120
Ugas by (T)KO: +1200
Ugas by decision: +420
* * *
It means a bet of $430 for Pacquiao will only win $100 while a bet of $100 for Ugas will win $300.
* * *
Other official weigh-in results :
Robert Guerrero 146¾ vs. Victor Ortiz 148
Mark Magsayo 125½ vs. Julio Ceja 125
Carlos Castro 125½ vs. Oscar Escandon 125¾
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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