Tempo Desk
By CARLO ANOLIN
Apart from many boxing fans, Manny Pacquiao himself has been looking forward to his much-awaited comeback fight since 2019.
The match, however, nearly went into naught after Errol Spence Jr. suffered an eye injury two weeks prior to their mega-bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Aug. 21 there.
Thanks to Cuban boxer Yordenis Ugas, who holds the super WBA welterweight belt previously owned by Pacquiao, the show went on.
The 42-year-old Pacquiao, however, believed that without Ugas in the picture, the match could have been scrapped altogether.
“Considering cancelling the fight? I mean, if there’s no Ugas in the undercard, if there’s no same weight in the undercard, I think probably the fight will be cancelled,” said Pacquiao in a recent online press conference.
“But it happened that way. It’s a good thing that Ugas is in the same weight, in the welterweight division and he’s in the undercard,” added the Filipino fighting senator, who has 62 wins with 39 knockouts, seven defeats, and two draws in his rich boxing career.
Nonetheless, Pacquiao expressed no disappointment at all, expecting that the fans will still love the upcoming match against the aggressive Ugas.
Ugas, for his part, echoed Pacquiao’s sentiment and vowed not to disappoint his supporters.
“This is the most important fight of my life,” Ugas, who has a 26-4 record with 12 KOs, said through a translator’s help. “I started fighting when I was six years old dreaming of this. I’m gonna be there to step up to the ring and I’m gonna give it all inside the ring. No matter what happens, that’s gonna be my goal.”
