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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

Manny Pacquiao entered the ring after a two-year absence. Pacquiao looked to add to his boxing legacy by fighting the undefeated Errol Spence Jr. Unfortunately for Pacquiao, Errol Spence Jr. pulled out of the fight because of a torn retina.

However, the fight went ahead on the same date as the current WBA welterweight champion of the world, Yordenis Ugas, accepted the fight on just under two weeks’ notice. Although the 35-year-old, Ugas, had been part of the professional boxing circuit for a long time, he did not have any big fight to his name.

USA Today via Reuters

Ahead of the fight, the champion showed nothing but respect to Manny ‘The Pacman’ Pacquiao. However, he made it clear that he would leave the respect outside the ring.

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Manny Pacquiao vs Yordenis Ugas fight stats 

According to CompuBox, Yordenis Ugas out struck Pacquiao for 10 rounds during their fight. Pacquiao landed more punches than Ugas in the third and fifth rounds and came up second best to ’54 Milagros’ in terms of punches landed in all the other rounds.

Also read: After Cementing His Status as Champion, Yordenis Ugas Calls Out Errol Spence Jr.

The final punch stat report showed that Ugas landed 37.3% of his total punches and 59.1% of his power punches, compared to Pacquiao’s 16% total punches and 25.9% power punches.

Ugas was the less active fighter of the two. He threw just half as many punches as Pacquiao, however, his punches were more effective and precise. Ugas tormented Pacquiao with his jab in the early rounds, before landing right hooks to greater effect as the fight went on.

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Pacquiao looked tired and stiff as the fight progressed. In the post-fight interview, Manny Pacquiao spoke about stiffness in his legs due to which he could not move as freely as he wanted to.

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In the end, all three judges scored the contest in favor of Yordenis Ugas. Now, the WBA belt holder will now look to unify the welterweight belts as soon as he recovers. His performance tonight showed that he wasn’t someone who got lucky with one good punch.

What did you make of Yordenis Ugas’ dominant display throughout the fight?