Yordenis Ugas took the biggest fight of his career on 11 days’ notice.
And he shined.
The reigning WBA welterweight champion defended his title Saturday night with a decision win over Manny Pacquiao.
Originally, Pacquiao was to face Errol Spence Jr., but an eye injury forced the change.
Ugas, seven years younger than the 42-year-old boxing legend and Senator, swept the scorecards to improve to 27-4. With the loss, the eight-division champion Pacquiao fell to 67-8-2.
“I’m very excited,” Ugas said. “But most of all, I want to thank Manny for giving me this moment in this ring. We only had two weeks training, but I listened to my corner and it all worked out.”
Ugas won on the scorecards, 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113. The Olympic bronze medalist is now 12-1 over his last 13.
Pacquiao, fighting for the first time in several months, did not disclose what he would do next. Some have stated retirement, others have mentioned a run for the presidential seat of the Philippines.
“Let me rest before I make a decision,” Pacquiao said.
In the co-main event, Robert Guerrero scored a victory over Victor Ortiz in a meeting of former champions. All three scorecards read 96-94 in favor of the 38-year-old Guerrero, who is now 37-6-1.
Neither fighter had been active coming into the night, as Guerrero ended a 23-month absence while Ortiz was fighting for the first time in over three years.
Mark Magsayo remained unbeaten with a win over Julio Ceja, moving to 23-0.
