Yordenis Ugas defeats Manny Pacquaio by unanimous decision: Reaction, results and fight card recaps

Yordenis Ugas got a marquee win against Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao may be 42, but Ugas made a name for himself by winning the main event of a pay-per-view fight against one of the biggest names in the sport. Ugas retained the WBA welterweight belt.

What now for the 35-year-old Cuban? Ugas may have earned a fight against Errol Spence Jr., who was originally slated to fight Pacquiao before having surgery for a detached retina. If Spence recovers quickly, that would make sense as the next fight for Ugas. Both are belt-holders in the welterweight division.

(Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

Manny Pacquiao is 42 years old and just lost a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas so the big question is will Pacquiao retire? In the post-fight interview, Pacquiao said a brief, "I don't know. Let me rest first and relax and make a decision if I fight again."

He also said he will make a final announcement next month on whether or not he will run for president of the Philippines. Pacquiao said he didn't make enough adjustments and his legs were tight, which contributed to why he didn't move as much.

Ugas said, through a translator, in the post-fight interview that he prays Pacquiao will fight again.

(Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

Yordenis Ugas wins unanimous decision 115-113, 116-112 twice to retain his WBA welterweight belt and possibly send Manny Pacquiao to retirement.

Pacquiao raises gloves at final bell, but Ugas had the better 12th. I have Ugas winning 115-113. Ugas again landed quality right hands and even taunted Pacquiao in the late going, feeling victory was his. We go to the judges...

(Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

11th round: Ugas landed the better blows there. Pacquiao just can’t put his power combinations together.

105-104 Ugas

Tenth round: Pacquiao’s more effective activity took the edge off Ugas’ power shots. Pacquiao, at 42, was busier.

95-95

(Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

Ninth round: Pacquiao did a better job evading Ugas’ power there, staying on the attack, winning by being the aggressor and attentive on defense.

86-85 Ugas

(Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

Eighth round: Ugas’ rights continue defining the action. Pacquiao tries to stay busy, but he keeps eating those shots.

77-75 Ugas

Seventh round: Ugas’ rights are more impressive than Pacquiao’s power shots. The crowd is subdued, mirroring Pac’s frustration.

67-66 Ugas

Sixth round: An Ugas hard right in the final seconds was the defining punch of a slow round.

57-57

Fifth round: Pacquiao applied pressure off an Ugas right. A hard right by Ugas follows. An exchange shows how competitive the bout is. A Pacquiao combination is followed by two hard Ugas rights. And Pacquiao ends with a combination, slipping a blow.

48-47 Pacquiao

Fourth round: An Ugas right precedes a low blow that gives Pacquiao a break. Ugas was landing at will it seemed for a bit on power punches and a jab. Pacquiao responds to close the round.

38-38

(Photo credit: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Third round: Great round. Pacquiao’s activity ruled it thanks to a strong combination punctuated by a right hand. Can he hurt Ugas? The Cuban came right off the ropes throwing punches. Another Pacquiao combination followed.

29-28 Pacquiao

Second round: Ugas lands scoring rights, pounding the body with a power shot. Pacquiao threw some combinations that were minimally effective.

10-9 Ugas

First round: Pacquiao’s speed set up effective early combinations before Ugas landed a hard body shot that slowed Pacquiao. Pacquiao came back with more activity and Ugas tried the jab, which worked in spots.

10-9 Pacquiao.

(Photo credit: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Manny Pacquiao takes to the ring as "Eye of the Tiger" blares...amazing moment in the arena for what might be a legend's final bout...

Yordenis Ugas is in the ring, and now the ring walk of Manny Pacquiao has begun at T-Mobile Arena...

The anthems for the Phillipines and the United States have been sung and Manny Pacquiao and Yordenas Ugas are about to enter the ring at T-Mobile Arena. The crowd has filled in throughout the main card and is a bit anxious after showing some displeasure with the last few rounds of the Robert Guerrero-Victor Ortiz fight.

The former welterweight champions saved a final exchange for the last seconds, hugging at the end to affirm pre-fight worries that they were too friendly to produce an all-out brawl.

Ortiz-Guerrero goes to the judges, and three 96-94 scores go to Robert Guerrero.

(Photo credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

Lots of holding and inside fighting have drawn boos and dampened the initial fireworks between Ortiz and Guerrero. We’re on to the ninth.

Guerrero’s left eye has swollen mightily, to the point his vision is compromised here in the sixth.

Ortiz has sustained a cut at the right eye. The action slows at the close of the fourth round.

Guerrero and Ortiz doing what expected, engaging in a slugfest. Ortiz was battered by a left-right here in the second round.

Julio Ceja was clocked with a huge right hand from Mark Magsayo that resulted in a knockout. He stayed down for a bit, but was eventually responsive. Several minutes after the fight, the pay-per-view broadcast showed him unable to walk on his own power. He was being helped out of the arena.

Next up is the co-main event between veteran former world champions Robert Guerrero and Victor Ortiz.

Mark Magsayo has viciously knocked out Julio Ceja with a massive right hand in the 10th round. Ceja rises very slowly. Scary moment.

Meanwhile, Magsayo did a backflip in celebration (pictured).

(Photo credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

Now, late in the fifth round Julio Ceja drops a badly fatiguing Mark Magsayo. Gripping action here…

Featherweight Mark Magsayo drops Mexico's Julio Ceja with a first-round left hand delivered directly on the nose. Ceja gathered himself and finished the round, but it was a big start for Magsayo.

The second fight is a WBC featherweight title eliminator that pits Mexico's Julio Ceja (32-4-1, 28 KOs) vs. Mark Magsayo (22-0, 15 KOs) of the Philippines. Magsayo trains alongside Pacquiao at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.

Remarkable toe-to-toe action in the seventh round of the pay-per-view opener between Phoenix featherweight Carlos Castro and Colombia’s Oscar Escandon.

Castro, relying on his length, battered Escandon with several power punches, the former title challenger slipping to the canvas while trying to evade the onslaught.

But Castro punched himself out and was left to endure a flurry of short blows before he regrouped and set up some crowd-thrilling exchanges before the bell.

Castro unleashed a decisive 10th-round flurry to score a TKO of former title challenger Escandon, referee Celestino Ruiz waving the bout over at the 1:08 mark after Escandon dropped to a knee while attempting to remain standing through an eight-count.

Nice win for Phoenix’s Castro (27-0, 12 KOs), who certainly is eyeing the WBA belt currently worn by four-division champion Leo Santa Cruz.

(Photo credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

A small airplane carrying unbeaten three-division champion Gervonta Davis to the Pacquiao-Ugas bout in Las Vegas aborted its takeoff in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., earlier Saturday and came to rest safely in a grassy patch next to the runway, according to reports.

Davis posted on Instagram that he’d rather be “driving or catching a train” following the harrowing episode, and added, “I walk (with) angels.”

The airplane was carrying between four and 10 passengers when it experienced nose gear failure, according to an official quoted in a report, and there were no immediate reports of injuries.

IBF super-middleweight champion Caleb Plant just stopped by press row and professed his confidence in upsetting Canelo Alvarez in their Nov. 6 fight for undisputed status.

Nashville’s Plant said that while he has some doubts about the need for a healthy young man like himself to take the COVID-19 vaccine, he has been vaccinated to ensure he can keep the date.

Three other major summer bouts, including a lightweight defense by champion Teofimo Lopez, the heavyweight defense of Tyson Fury and a super-middleweight bout for unbeaten David Benavidez, have been scrapped by COVID-19 positives.

Plant said he feels assured he has weathered sufficient pressure in the ring and in his life to give pound-for-pound king Alvarez a high-quality bout. The FOX pay-per-view fight is expected to be staged here in Las Vegas.

We’re through with the preliminary undercard action here at T-Mobile Arena after featherweight Angel Contreras (11-4-2) of Mexico delivered the first defeat to John Dato (14-1-1) of the Philippines by scores of 78-73, 77-74, 77-74.

Mexico lightweight Jose Valenzuela (9-0, 5 KOs) opened the card with a fourth-round TKO of Cincinnati’s Donte Strayhorn followed by heavyweight Steven Torres’ first-round TKO of Justin Rolfe.

Lightweight Frank Martin (14-0) of Detroit then claimed a 10-round unanimous decision over Ryan Kielczweski. Super-middleweights Burley Brooks of Dallas and Cameron Rivera of Fife, Wash., then scrapped to a draw.

Brooks is a product of two-belt welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.’s gym. Spence, of course, was supposed to fight Pacquiao tonight before he was found to have suffered a detached retina earlier this month, prompting surgery and Ugas to replace him.

California lightweight Mickel Clements claimed a convincing unanimous-decision triumph in his pro debut, sweeping all three scorecards 40-36 over Eliseo Villalobos.

The FOX pay-per-view portion begins at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific with Phoenix featherweight Carlos Castro (26-0, 11 KOs) meeting Colombia’s former title challenger Oscar Escandon (26-5, 18 KOs).

BetMGM has Castro as a -1100 favorite over the more experienced Escandon at +600. Castro is -225 to win by stoppage and +250 to claim victory on points while Escandon is +1000 to win by stoppage and +1600 by points.

Manny Pacquiao enters this fight against Yordenis Ugas with a 62-7-2 record with 39 knockouts. Now 42 years old, it's not clear what version of Pacquiao we will see. What is clear is that when he was in his prime, Pacquiao was a force in boxing. Lance Pugmire wrote about Pacquiao's memorable career:

Pacquiao defeated five Hall of Famers and five other world champions during his stirring run, counting Oscar De La Hoya, four-division champion Miguel Cotto, archrival Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and 154-pound Antonio Margarito among the vanquished.

“I remember I couldn’t keep him off me,” said De La Hoya, who, at age 35, quit on his stool after eight rounds of punishment in their 2008 bout, then retired from boxing. “It took so much out of me to make 147 pounds, and he had all the energy in the world. He just kept coming.”

GO FURTHER

Manny Pacquiao’s bitter rivals describe him at his peak: ‘He just kept coming’

The judges for the Pacquiao-Ugas fight are veterans Dave Moretti, Patricia Morse Jarman and Steve Weisfeld. The referee is Russell Mora.

Moretti helped Pacquiao to a narrow majority decision victory over Juan Manuel Marquez in 2011, scoring the bout 115-113 in Pacquiao’s favor.

In Pacquiao’s most recent bout, his WBA welterweight-belt-winning performance 25 months ago, Moretti scored the bout 115-112 for split-decision winner Pacquiao.

Pacquiao is favored to win the fight with -400 odds (Ugas is +325), but a deeper look into the odds shows that a long fight is expected. BetMGM has odds of -175 for the fight to go the distance. The implied odds of that give a 63.6% chance the fight will go the distance. After that, the fight ending in the first six rounds is +350 while it ending in the last six rounds is +275.

Pacquiao winning on points is +110 and a unanimous decision is +150.

If you're looking for a chaotic fight, Pacquiao winning after getting knocked down is +800 while Ugas pulling that off is +1400.

If you bet the fight at BetMGM for $1 you will receive $100 in free bets and a free one-year subscription (or renewal) to The Athletic.

My friend Keith Idec of Boxing Scene noted earlier this week that Ugas' trainer, Ismael Salas, was in the corner of Thailand’s Boonsai Sangsurat when he knocked out Manny Pacquiao in the third round of their WBC 112-pound title fight in September 1999. Pacquiao has suffered three KO defeats, and that was the second.

(Photo by Steve Marcus / Getty Images)

Just walked into T-Mobile Arena for tonight's Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas WBA welterweight title fight alongside veteran cut man Mike Rodriguez, an Los Angeles County Sheriff’s homicide detective who will work in Pacquiao’s corner.

Rodriguez interestingly will find his mentor, Jacob “Stitch” Duran, working in the opposite corner for freshly crowned champion Ugas.

Duran was previously Rodriguez’s boxing coach in the U.S. Air Force, and Rodriguez closely followed methods developed by Duran to make cut treatment more sanitary, reducing the possibility of infection.

Rodriguez’s role is critical given Pacquiao’s long-admitted disdain for seeing his own blood despite cuts suffered in his bouts against rival Juan Manuel Marquez.

Duran, too, might be pressed into action given what Pacquiao has done to the faces of Marquez, Cotto and Oscar De La Hoya in past fights.

Yordenis Ugas is a 35-year-old Cuban who has had setbacks and challenges throughout his career. Lance Pugmire has more on what led Ugas to this pay-per-view fight:

His path to a crowning triumph was delayed by a controversial March 2019 split-decision favoring then-WBC champion Shawn Porter despite the pair delivering the same number of power punches and Ugas contributing the defining blows of the night. He cut Porter in the right eye in the 10th round and showcased craftiness, superior fitness and precision punching that night.

The defeat indeed elevated Ugas from an obscure name regarded by hard-core followers to a legitimate contender capable of grasping a belt. And while mainstream sports fans may just be learning of Ugas by this placement into the global main event, he carries in confidence connected to his perilous path to reach the moment.

Read more about Ugas' story below.

(Photo by Louis Grasse / PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

GO FURTHER

Yordenis Ugas isn’t fazed by Manny Pacquiao’s legendary status: ‘I’m ready to step in the ring and shock the world’