Father Time, an unwelcome guest in the Manny Pacquiao corner, remains undefeated

Saturday night, before a crowd of over 17,000 people, WBA welterweight super champion Yordenis Ugas (27-4, 12 KO’s) won a UD 12 over ring legend, Hall of Fame bound, Manny Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KO’s) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao, as he has been throughout his career, was the aggressor who looked to throw punches in bunches, looking to pile up the punishment and the points. Ugas, an 11-day out replacement, when initial headliner Errol Spence suffered an eye injury in training, took a less active, but perhaps more accurate, sharp shooting role from the perimeter for much of the fight.

In the end, the judges had it 115-113, 116-112, 116-112. While it could have gone either way, many feel the right guy won the (albeit close) fight.

While statistically Manny was the more active fighter, throwing nearly twice the number of punches as Ugas, the calm, cool Cuban was more accurate with his stinging jabs and hard overhand rights that found their mark throughout the fight.

Perhaps Yugas was somewhat overlooked? Many people, myself included, made the assumption that Pacquiao would have an easier time (despite the last minute opponent change) than he would have had against Spence. Not many people envisioned a fighter with less than half the fights, including 4 losses, on a resume that paled in comparison to the Philippines’ senator, would have anything that “PacMan” couldn’t handle, and adjust to, in the bout.

But, Father Time, an unwelcome guest at any late career fighter’s party, crashed the evening and showed once again why he is indeed untouched, unscathed, and undefeated. Pacquiao, as he has aged in his career, has amazed fans with his seemingly boundless energy and strong reflexes. Last night, for the first time in 72 fights over 26 years, Manny’s speed and reflexes looked like that of a man in his 40’s. Now, in fairness to Pacquiao, he had a very awkward style in the much taller Ugas, who had a significant reach advantage, that he used to employ a catch and counter style on his opponent.

In the end, it seemed the strong jab and hard counter rights were the things that were the most frustrating for Pacquiao throughout the fight. Having said that, Pacquiao was the busier of the two fighters and did land significant combinations in a fight that a couple of close rounds for Manny would have swayed the fight in his favour. In short, an outstanding performance from a fighter closing in on his 43rd birthday.

Often, in a fight like this, there are more questions than answers. Did Manny over-train? Did he have time to make a style adjustment on less than 2 weeks’ notice? Was Ugas overlooked? But, in this case, I think most people have the answer; you can train for everything and everyone - except age.

Will Manny fight again? Part of me hopes so because boxing is more fun with Pacquiao events in it. He seems to want to fight again as he continued to express his love for the sport in post-fight interviews. But, he also has to look at the schedule for his senate duties and possible run for presidency in his beloved Philippines. Whatever he does I will respect it as he has earned the right to do whatever he chooses.

I truly believe that anyone reading this article will not see another Manny Pacquiao come along in their lifetime. We have had the pleasure of watching history unfold before our eyes. This isn’t simply emotion talking; look at his resume - simply incredible.

As Manny left the ring last night there was a palpable sense of sadness in the room as people were thinking they had perhaps witnessed the end of what has been an incredible era. Maybe they had? Or, maybe there is more to come? Manny Pacquiao has been one of my very favorite fighters of the modern era and if last night turns out to be his final bout, I simply and humbly say, thank you.