After Errol Spence Jr had to pull out of the fight versus Manny Pacquiao, this fight was made as a replacement. I think it’s an excellent fight considering how short notice it is. Ugas is a top five welterweight who is getting the opportunity of his career on Saturday night. Pacquiao has hinted that this may be his last fight though if he wins I’d expect him to reschedule the Spence fight due to how much money is involved.
Manny Pacquiao will raid forwards and do his standard 1-2-1 combination throughout the fight. I think if Ugas jabs to much, Pacquiao will counter it with right hands. I personally think this could be a big factor in the fight as Ugas loves to use his jab to dominate fights and Pacquiao will take it away in this fight. Neither of the two fighters are big punchers at Welterweight though Ugas is the bigger man in the match up.
One of the biggest factors going into this fight is Pacquiao’s two year lay off and how that will affect him at the age of 42. I personally believe that Pacquiao is one of those fighters that doesn’t get affected by ring rust due to a variety of reasons. He’s experienced enough that hes not going to learn anything new by being active and he stays in shape between fights. Kid Galahad showed a few weeks ago that a long lay off doesn’t have to effect your in the ring performance as long as you stay in the gym while inactive.
Ugas had a good performance in his last fight but towards the end of the fight he was seriously hurt by Abel Ramos when he decided to get into exchanges. Ugas has also been dropped multiple times in his career. He hasn’t had a lot of time to get ready for an event of this magnitude and may be like a deer in the headlights when he gets shoved on to the main stage versus one of the biggest stars in boxing.
I think this fight will be competitive throughout but Pacquiao’s experience will shine through as he steals rounds in the judges eyes by working in the last minute. He may score a knockdown early on when Ugas isn’t properly warmed up as well. After twelve rounds I expect Pacquiao to win a unanimous decision.
Boxing Fulcrum 