Manny Pacquiao Fight Week Notebook
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA (August 15, 2021) — Four score and eight weight divisions ago, Senator Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao brought forth, upon this boxing continent, a new Pacman nation, conceived in liberating world championship crowns, and dedicated to the proposition that all opponents are created equal — beaten!
IT’S FIGHT WEEK BABY!
Eight-division world champion and boxer laureate Manny Pacquiao will be challenging WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugás this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Two years ago, Manny, at age 40, tagged then undefeated WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman with his first loss to become the oldest man to win a welterweight title. Can amazin’ Manny reclaim his title while breaking his own age record? The FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View, headlined by Pacquiao vs. Ugás, will begin at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
· Always the politician, when asked if switching his training preparations from southpaw Errol Spence to the orthodox style of Yordenis Ugás, 11 days before the fight, presented problems, Senator Manny Pacquiao said: “I am a bipartisan fighter who likes fighting righties and lefties equally.”
· Los Angeles freeways have nothing on Manny when it comes to traffic. Check out the footage from CBS Los Angeles’ SKY 2 copter when Manny finished his Friday morning run at Griffith Park: CBS Los Angeles on Twitter: “HOY, MANNY! A big crowd gathered this morning at Griffith Park, where Manny Pacquiao was training. The boxer posed for pictures, signed autographs, and gave Sky 2 a big wave! https://t.co/gDTzXYJknQ https://t.co/JKBeuPKieG” / Twitter
· Manny’s trainer, world-famous Freddie Roach, on celebrating 20 years together with Manny Pacquiao: “I look back to our first fight together, against IBF junior featherweight champion Lehlo Ledwaba, which took place twenty years ago and just a few weeks after we first met, and I’m still amazed. Fighters fire their trainers in good times and in bad times, it’s part of boxing. And here we are still together — longer than many marriages last. Manny is all about loyalty. He’s the greatest fighter I have ever trained. The smartest student I have ever taught. And a better friend you will never find. He brings so much joy to boxing and to the world.”
· Manny has fought all over the world, including the Philippines, the U.S., Macau, and Australia, but it’s clear, his second home, when it comes to boxing, is Las Vegas. Manny made his U.S. debut in Las Vegas when he knocked out IBF junior featherweight champion Lehlo Ledwaba in 2001. Saturday’s fight against Ugás will be his 22nd in the Fight Capital of the World, with 14 of those fights having at least one world title at stake.
· Manny has never shied away from a tough challenge. If anything defines the man’s body of work inside the boxing ring, it’s the roster of opponents Manny has faced, most in the prime of their careers, and many now in, or on their way into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Younger, taller, heavier, that never mattered to Manny. His philosophy — if you are going to fight for world titles in eight different weight classes, you’d better be prepared to accept a few Forget-Me-Knots. Here are Manny’s career victory highlights: Marco Antonio Barrera (2X), Juan Manuel Márquez (2X), Erik Morales (2X), Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Timothy Bradley (2X), Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito, and Keith Thurman. Collectively, they had a combined record of 415-28 — a winning percentage of 94% — when he defeated them or the first time he defeated them.
ABOUT PACQUIAO VS. UGÁS
Pacquiao vs. Ugás will see eight-division world champion and Philippine Senator Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao taking on WBA Welterweight World Champion Yordenis Ugás in the FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View main event Saturday, August 21 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The pay-per-view begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will see former world champions and all-action brawlers Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and “Vicious” Víctor Ortiz meet in a 10-round welterweight duel, unbeaten featherweight contender Mark Magsayo battle former world champion Julio Ceja in a WBC Featherweight Title Eliminator, plus undefeated contender Carlos Castro will take on former title challenger Óscar Escandón in a 10-round featherweight attraction that kicks off the pay-per-view.
How to Watch the Saturday, August 21, FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View Fight
Manny Pacquiao vs. Yordenis Ugas
Main Card: 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT
TV: Available on all major U.S. & Canadian PPV providers, including
Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour, Fios, and Optimum, among others (U.S.);
as well as Rogers, Bell, Shaw, SaskTel and TELUS (Canada)
iNDemand is serving as the cable and telco distributor in North America.
Streaming: FOX Sports App and FOXSports.com
Suggested retail price: $74.99 (U.S. & Canada)
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