Yordenis Ugas defeated Manny Pacquiao in a duel for the WBA Super welterweight title at the T Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States, Sunday (22/8).
In the first round, Pacquiao immediately dared to appear pressing with several punches that managed to get into Ugas’ face.
Meanwhile, Ugas tends to play defensively very tightly and only occasionally hits back. However, Ugas’ long strokes often surprise Pacquiao. In fact, Pacman had fallen at the end of the first round because he slipped.
In the second round, Pacquiao again appeared pressing. Meanwhile, Ugas did effective jabs. In this round, Ugas managed to make Pacquiao difficult with a long hard shot.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao tried to take advantage of the gap by making combination strokes. Ugas, once again, played disciplined, neat, and very tight in defense.
In the third round, Ugas appeared more open, but remained cautious by displaying a disciplined game. Meanwhile, Pacquiao again unleashed many punches to open up Ugas’ defense.
Pacquiao’s few hooks and combinations hit Ugas in the face, but the Cuban was still too strong.
In the fourth round, Ugas started to find his rhythm and managed to get two punches that went to Pacquiao’s face and stomach.
Meanwhile, Pacquaio still showed an impressive performance by launching a combination punch. The two fighters also carried out a reciprocating jab that hit each other in the face. In fact, at that moment, Ugas fell because he slipped.
In the fifth round, Ugas appeared more daring to press, while Pacquiao also did not reduce his attack tension.
The boxer from the Philippines remained aggressive by making combination strokes that became his mainstay. In fact, at the end of the fifth round, Pacquiao was able to increase the intensity of his punches towards Ugas.
In the sixth round, Ugas was still cautious and just waiting to find an opening to counterattack.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao still threw a lot of punches, although most were blocked by Ugas. At the end of the sixth round, an interesting incident occurred when Pacquiao tried to chase Ugas to the corner of the ring.
In the seventh round, Ugas began to increase the intensity of his punches. Meanwhile, Pacman continued to appear aggressive, even though he didn’t get many punches.
In the eighth round, Pacquiao and Ugas still looked fit. Pacquiao tried to do a right double jab which was returned by a hard long hook from Ugas.
Ugas’ long reach gave him the edge to strike a surprise blow to Pacquiao. Even though he didn’t hit many punches, Ugas’ punches were more effective.
In the ninth round, Pacquiao began to look tired. Meanwhile, Ugas looks still fit. In fact, at the beginning of the ninth round, Pacquiao had fallen because he tripped over Ugas’ feet.
At the start of the 10th round, the two boxers exchanged long hooks. In fact, Pacquiao’s one left hook managed to make Ugas falter.
Ugas still relies on a defensive strategy by relying on a counterattack with one or two strokes. Meanwhile, Pacquiao continued to hit hard at Ugas.
The 11th round, Pacquiao began to look to reduce the intensity of the attack. Pacquiao just jabs. Meanwhile, Ugas remained disciplined with a defensive game and only launched a counter-attack.
In the last round, Ugas still relied on a very hard long hook and defended with a waiting game. Meanwhile, Pacquiao continued to play attacking.
However, a Ugas uppercut was able to land on Pacquiao’s face at the end of the 12th round. Both fighters were still holding out until the 12th round ended. However, based on a unanimous decision, Yordenis Ugas was declared the winner.
Ugas won the points with a score of 115-113, 116-112 and 116-112 and successfully defended his WBA title.
