Yordenis Ugas Steps In, Scores Win Over Manny Pacquiao

Yordenis Ugas took the biggest fight of his career on 11 days’ notice.

And he shined.

The reigning WBA welterweight champion defended his title Saturday night with a decision win over Manny Pacquiao. 

Originally, Pacquiao was to face Errol Spence Jr., but an eye injury forced the change. 

Ugas, seven years younger than the 42-year-old boxing legend and Senator, swept the scorecards to improve to 27-4. With the loss, the eight-division champion Pacquiao fell to 67-8-2. 

“I’m very excited,” Ugas said. “But most of all, I want to thank Manny for giving me this moment in this ring. We only had two weeks training, but I listened to my corner and it all worked out.”

Ugas won on the scorecards, 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113. The Olympic bronze medalist is now 12-1 over his last 13. 

Pacquiao, fighting for the first time in several months, did not disclose what he would do next. Some have stated retirement, others have mentioned a run for the presidential seat of the Philippines. 

“Let me rest before I make a decision,” Pacquiao said.

In the co-main event, Robert Guerrero scored a victory over Victor Ortiz in a meeting of former champions. All three scorecards read 96-94 in favor of the 38-year-old Guerrero, who is now 37-6-1. 

Neither fighter had been active coming into the night, as Guerrero ended a 23-month absence while Ortiz was fighting for the first time in over three years. 

Mark Magsayo remained unbeaten with a win over Julio Ceja, moving to 23-0.