I knew that Cuban Olympian Yordenis Ugas had the style to defeat Manny Pacquiao but I was worried that the judges would rob Ugas on the cards, at last they finally scored the fight fair and square and gave it to Ugas to retain his WBA welterweight title.
I wish I had put money on the fight but you never know when an unknown fighter faces off against a beloved cash cow like Pacquiao, they usually never get the fair shake, but Ugas didn’t leave any doubt and he finished the fight strong.
Leading up to the fight Freddie Roach was talking his usual nonsense that Ugas is a basic fighter, and predicting a mid-rounds knockout for Pacquiao.
Roach isn’t a great trainer, he basically got lucky because Pacquiao who was already a champion in the Philippines happened to walk into his gym one day and decided he would be his trainer after a mitt workout. Roach has never taken a fighter from the ground up and made him a champion.
On the other hand, Ismael Salas the Cuban trainer of Ugas took amateur fighters from the ground up and built them with fundamentals and produced many high ring IQ fighters.
The Cuban school of boxing is far superior to the “I predict a KO” trash talk of Freddie Roach. The Cubans specialize in adapting, movement, countering, exchanging, you name it they can do it all.
Roach has never trained Pacquiao to cut off the ring, to avoid a long jab, or to avoid an overhand right.
Pacquiao was hit with long jabs, body punches, and overhand rights with ease and Ugas even telegraphed them at times and Pacquiao still couldn’t avoid them.
Salas warned Roach and Pacquiao before the fight that he already has a win over Pacquiao from all the way back to the late 90s when he was training Thai fighter Medgoen Singsurat in 1999 and stopped Pacquiao in the third round.
I would consider Salas a professor, he studies fights, unlike Roach who thinks every fighter will get KO’d by Manny Pacquiao. Salas respects the craft and analyzes each opponent with respect and comes up with intricate game plans when he faces them.
I kind of feel bad for Pacquiao because his loyalty to Roach hurt his boxing development. He would have been better off just training with Justin Fortune and Buboy. Fortune from the interviews I’ve seen, actually studies the opponents and breaks down what they do good and bad.
I know I’ve been harsh on Manny Pacquiao but I truly hope he retires because after tonight’s embarrassing schooling, if he continues to fight on it will just tarnish his legacy even more similar to Roy Jones Jr. who didn’t know when to stop and kept losing to subpar fighters.
If Pacquiao decides to fight again whoever they put in the ring with him will eat him alive. Hang up the gloves and call it a day.
I love the sweet science of boxing and enjoy sharing my opinion on it. Boricua!