Manny Pacquiao (L) and WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas pose during a news conference at MGM Grand Garden Arena on August 18, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao will challenge Ugas for his title at T-Mobile Arena on August 21 in Las Vegas. Steve Marcus/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Steve Marcus / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
MANILA, Philippines—Former welterweight champion Timothy Bradley Jr. sees Manny Pacquiao running away with an easy decision win over Yordenis Ugas come Sunday at T-Mobile Arena.
In a column published under ESPN, Bradley said Pacquiao would get a “one-sided” decision against the 35-year-old Cuban whom he sees would hit the canvas at least once.
Bradley added that Pacquiao would easily exploit Ugas’ lack of movement and power as the Filipino has a penchant to go for darting movements around the ring that present him with clean opportunities for combinations.
“Pacquiao loves to fight guys who like to work in that straight line, so that he can explode with his combinations on a stationary target. Ugas does that a lot,” said Bradley. “He’ll punch and then come right back to that middle. That’s going to be the cause of Ugas’ downfall, and Pacquiao is going to make him pay, over and over again.”
“I see Ugas getting knocked down in this fight at least once, maybe even twice. He will get up, he will fight back, and I believe that he will survive.”
Bradley, who fought Pacquiao three times and lost twice, that the sudden change of opponents and Ugas’ three-inch height advantage over the 5-foot-6 Filipino wouldn’t matter that much in the WBA welterweight title bout.
Pacquiao, the WBA’s champion in recess due to inactivity, was supposed to fight IBF and WBC champion Errol Spence but the latter pulled out of the bout after having eye surgery pushing Ugas, who was initially scheduled to take on Fabian Maidana in the undercard, to the main event.
“Pacquiao was getting ready for a southpaw like himself in Spence, and this is going to be a completely different kind of fight against a very different type of fighter in Ugas,” said Bradley, who retired in 2016. “But over the course of 71 pro fights, Pacquiao has built up so much experience against orthodox fighters, including some of the best fighters of all time, and that’s going to allow him to pivot a lot more easily than some others would.
“At 5-foot-6, Pacquiao is three inches shorter than Ugas, but that’s never been an issue for Pacquiao. He has beaten all of these guys who are a lot taller.”
