Yordenis Ugas and Manny Pacquiao square off in Las Vegas this weekend, with the Cuban stepping up at late notice to take on the former eight-weight world champion in what is increasingly rumoured to be the Filipino great’s last hoorah.
On The DAZN Boxing Show, Ak and Barak dived deep into the matchup, with a particular focus on what Ugas can utilise to shock the world and defeat Pacquiao.
Ak was first up to point out that Pac-man hasn’t been in a meaningful fight for two years, saying “father time is undefeated, we don’t know what Manny Pacquiao we’re going to get”.
Pacquiao is well-known for his energetic style, as Ak compared him to the Energizer bunny, but as he put it “what if the battery ran out within these two years and we don’t get the same Manny?”
Meanwhile Barak was quick to point out how Pacquiao has been beaten in the past, citing Juan Manuel Marquez, who “had a good chin and was able to take his punches”, while he also harked back to Pacquiao’s defeat against Floyd Mayweather, with ‘Money’ able to “control the distance” against a man who loves to box inside in Pacquiao.
Barak continued to point out similarities with Mayweather from the Cuban’s loss against Shawn Porter, where Ugas “would catch Shawn sometimes coming in, but he would take that step back.” Seemingly, that’s the gameplan Yordenis Ugas will need to implement in some form to have any hope of success against Manny Pacquiao in front of a packed-out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Ultimately, the two experts were in agreement that a win for Ugas “wouldn’t be the biggest upset. It would be a slight upset all because Manny is who he is, but you have to consider the age, and you have to consider the fact that Ugas has momentum. He’s on the rise.”