LAS VEGAS—Manny Pacquiao and Yordenis Ugas both made weight then came face-to-face for the cameras at the weigh-in ahead of their Saturday world title welterweight showdown in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao, the heavy favorite, weighed in at 146 pounds while World Boxing Association welterweight champ Ugas tipped the scales right on the number at 147 pounds on Friday.
Ugas (24-0, 12 KOs) took the fight on just 11 days notice after Errol Spence Jr. pulled out with an eye injury.
“I’m not taking this fight lightly,” 42-year-old Pacquiao said. “Of course, I don’t want to be overconfident for this fight. I want to make sure tomorrow I get the victory.”
Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) is returning to the ring after a two-year absence—the longest of his career—to fight for another world title in front of a big Vegas crowd and a pay-per-view audience.
The hastily rearranged bout also gives Pacquiao a chance to settle a score at the T-Mobile Arena.
Pacquiao was controversially stripped of his WBA title on grounds of “inactivity” earlier this year despite the global disruption to boxing caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The WBA instead handed the belt to Ugas, a fact that upset Pacquiao.
“I didn’t like that someone took my belt without challenging me in the ring,” Pacquiao said. “Both of us are champions, but we’ll see who has the belt after Saturday.”
In the opposite corner, Ugas is quietly plotting an ambush despite also having to readjust his training camp.
The 35-year-old Cuban had initially been due to face Fabian Maidana on the undercard but agreed to step in to face Pacquiao after Spence’s withdrawal.
“I have a lot of respect for him so I’m very excited,” Ugas said. “I have the belt. Whoever wins tomorrow gets the belt, but right now I’m the champion, and I’m ready.”
While Pacquiao retains enough residue of the talent that made him the most thrilling fighter in boxing at his peak, Father Time remains an ever-present threat for a boxer into his 40s.
“I don’t know if this is going to be my last [time in the ring], we are going to see fight by fight,” said Pacquiao.
“I feel young right now. I enjoy training camp and I’m excited to sacrifice and be disciplined every day to prepare for a fight like this.”
Pacquiao’s long-time trainer, Freddie Roach, says there has been no sign of a drop-off in his protege’s ferocious work ethic at their Los Angeles training base.
Roach sees Manny KO win
Pacquiao still attacks his gruelling morning roadwork in the hills above the California metropolis, and in a recent workout at Roach’s Wild Card gym, twice floored a sparring partner.
“We’ve had a good training camp and Manny has worked really hard for this fight,” Roach said.
“Putting a sparring partner on the canvas was a motivation for all of us. We’re going to bring that into this fight.
“His work ethic today is as good as it was 20 years go … I’m expecting this fight to end in a knockout the way he has been looking.”