On less than 24 hours’ notice, Senator Manny Pacquiao and his Hall of Fame trainer world-famous Freddie Roach converted their training camp, which for the past six weeks had been geared toward preparing for southpaw Errol Spence, the undefeated unified WBC/IBF welterweight champion, to new opponent WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugás, who fights out of an orthodox stance.
Spence was forced to withdraw his showdown with Manny due to a retinal tear in his left eye.
Ugás, who was preparing to make his first title defense against Fabian Maidana in the co-feature of the Pacquiao-Spence card, stepped up to replace Spence and will defend his title against Pacquiao, the previous owner of the same title.
After six weeks of sparring and strategizing in preparation for fighting a lefty, Pacquiao sparred eight rounds with three right-handed fighters on Tuesday.
Was it hard to adjust?
“I am a politician. I am used to dealing with changing stances.
“For the first thirty seconds things looked a little odd in sparring, but I adjusted quickly, and it was business as usual. Naturally, I am disappointed in the situation but thank God the tear in Errol’s retina was discovered before it could be damaged further. I join his family, friends, and fans and pray that he has a full and complete recovery,” said a grinning Manny after a workout that lasted close to three hours.
“As for Ugás, I am happy that he stepped up to replace Errol Spence. Ugás is a champion with a strong Cuban boxing background. This is a big fight, and we will give the fans an exciting show. He was given my title belt earlier in the year but now we get to fight for it inside the ring. That is the proper way to become a world champion,” the world’s only eight-division world champion continued.
For Roach, this situation is a first.
“Training camp injuries are part of the territory in boxing, though you hate to see a severe injury like the one Errol suffered happen,” said Roach.
“In the twenty years Manny and I have worked together, he has never had an injury that postponed or canceled a fight. That is amazing and a testament to Manny’s skills and conditioning. I have had to deal with opponent changes before but never this close to a fight.
“We still have two more sparring sessions remaining and though I am concerned, I’m not too concerned. Manny adjusts to any situation. He looked great in sparring on Tuesday,” he said.
Furthermore, Roach had warned Pacquiao that the reigning WBA champ is as dangerous as they come.
Ugas owns a 26-4 record with 21 wins coming by way of knockout.
“I had Ugás winning his fight with Shawn Porter. Ugás goes for the kill right away. He likes to go for the home run when he throws his punches. He would rather win a fight by knockout than on points. There will be a lot of fireworks in this one,” said Roach.
“It’s a fight, that’s for sure and the fact that Manny had the world title belt he earned by beating Keith Thurman given to Ugás without any warning or due process has given Manny a big incentive to really perform on August 21. I think he’s really pissed at this guy!”
