The end is near for Manny Pacquiao's glittering boxing career after the Filipino legend suffered a devastating loss to Yordenis Ugas in their WBA "super" welterweight title showdown at the T-Mobile Arena Saturday. Pacquiao himself admitted after the fight that retirement was a possibility after absorbing one of the biggest upset losses in his 26 years as a professional boxer.
He looked out of sorts against Ugas, who only had 11 days to prepare for the biggest fight of his career. Even though the Filipino icon threw more than twice as many punches in the fight (815-405), Ugas connected with the more telling blows, outlanding Pacquiao 151-130. All three judges agreed with the stats as they scored the fight in favor of Ugas. Two of them gave 116-112 wins to Ugas, while the other ruled it a 115-113 victory for the former Olympian.
Old Pacquiao showed up instead of Pacquiao of old
Pacquiao finally looked his age as the 42-year-old was slow in his movements against Ugas. The Pacquiao of old that blitzed opponents with speed and power of his punches was nowhere to be seen inside the ring on Saturday. Instead, an old Pacquiao showed up with this flat-footed version having no answers for Ugas' boxing strategy the entire fight.
Ugas repeatedly targeted Pacquiao with a double jab to the head before finishing the combination with a right hand to the Filipino's body. Ugas' defense was also impeccable as he picked off Pacquiao's punches with a high guard before delivering a counter with a right hook.
Ugas could fend off Pacquiao's attacks easily as the latter didn't use his feet to change the angles of his punches like he used to. With Pacquiao moving at a straight line the entire 12 rounds, Ugas was able to dictate the fight and, in the process, record the biggest win of his life.
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Manny to announce retirement soon?
Pacquiao was non-committal about his future in the sport, saying at the post-fight news conference, "In my heart, I want to continue [to] fight but I have to consider, also, my body." When ESPN's Bernardo Osuna interviewed Pacquiao, he gave an even more telling response, saying, "Right now, probably I'm thinking about retirement," placing the percentage of him doing so at 60-40.
If this is indeed the end for Pacquiao, he will leave the sport as one of the greatest boxers ever. Pacquiao is not only an eight-division world champion, but he also managed to reign at the top of the sport spanning four decades which is an incredible accomplishment. For that, we say thank you, Manny Pacquiao, for the joy you brought to boxing fans everywhere.
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