According to The Grio, Filipino boxing powerhouse Manny Pacquiao was defeated on August 21 in Las Vegas by Cuban, WBA champion Yordenis Ugás.
The fight, which streamed on FOX PayPerView, was initially set to be with Pacquiao, the former eight-division champion, against Errol Spence, Jr. The fighter could not battle Pacquiao due to having a torn retina in his left eye. He was injured earlier this month.
Although Pacquiao tried his best during the fight, he admitted that this was not his best performance.
“I did my best tonight, but my best wasn’t good enough,” Pacquiao said. “No excuses. I wanted to fight for the title in the ring, and tonight the champion is named Ugás.”
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“He’s a great competitor, but I came in here to show I am the champion of the WBA,” Ugás said after the fight. “A lot of respect for him, but I won this fight,” he added.
Pacquiao has yet to decide whether or not he’ll fight again after the disappointing loss. Saturday’s return to boxing had been Pacquiao’s longest hiatus in boxing career– which has lasted a quarter-century.
“In the future, you may not see Manny Pacquiao again to fight in the ring,” Pacquiao said. “I don’t know, but I’m so happy for what I’ve accomplished.”
Ugás was able to keep up with the highly experienced boxer and threw about half as many punches as Pacquiao; however, he held more of an effective and precise blow which led him to victory.
Pacquiao attributed his loss to his legs cramping from the second round onward, overtraining on his part, and age, “But I’m not young anymore. So I don’t know,” he said.
Ugás, on the other hand, was grateful for the chance to compete against the legend.
“I’m very excited, but most of all, I want to thank Manny Pacquiao for giving me this moment in this ring today,” Ugás said. “We only had two weeks of training, but I listened to my corner, and it all worked out.”
Throughout the fight that had everyone at the edge of their seat, Pacquiao consistently threw more punches than Ugás but landed in the same range, as Ugás countered him with his defense and accuracy tactics.
