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| Date | August 21, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | T-Mobile Arena,Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA (Super) welterweight title | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ugás wins via 12-roundunanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, 115-113) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manny Pacquiao vs.Yordenis Ugás, billed asThe Legend vs. The Olympian, was awelterweightprofessional boxing match contested between formereight-division world championManny Pacquiao, andWBA (Super) championYordenis Ugás. The bout took place on August 21, 2021, at theT-Mobile Arena inParadise, Nevada, U.S. This was Manny Pacquiao's final boxing match before his retirement later that year.[1]
On May 21, 2021, formereight-division world championManny Pacquiao made the unexpected announcement on his social media that he would face undefeated WBC and IBF welterweight championErrol Spence Jr. on August 21 in Las Vegas onFoxpay-per-view (PPV).[2]Premier Boxing Champions and Fox confirmed the news, and it was reported that both men have signed contracts to face each other.[3][4] The two men had previously already met more than two years prior on March 16, 2019, in the ring following Spence's unanimous decision victory overMikey Garcia inArlington, Texas, when both Pacquiao and Spence indicated they would relish the chance to fight each other.[5] On June 23, the venue was officially announced as theT-Mobile Arena.[6]
On August 10, it was announced that Spence would be replaced by WBA (Super) championYordenis Ugás, after being forced to pull out of the bout with Pacquiao due to suffering an injury to his left eye.[7]
Professional wrestling promotionWWE hosted their annualSummerSlam pay-per-view event on the same night at the nearbyAllegiant Stadium, which raised concerns over whether or not fans would be able to attend or watch both shows.[8] WWE had planned to have SummerSlam end with enough time for fans to leave the Allegiant Stadium and make it over to the T-Mobile Arena to watch the main event fight between Pacquiao and Ugás, or for those watching at home, enough time to switch PPV channels.[9][10] SummerSlam ended just as Pacquiao made his entrance.[11]
Philippines –Lupang Hinirang byJ. Rey Soul ofBlack Eyed Peas
United States –Star Spangled Banner by MeangirlThe bout was a competitive affair, with Ugás using his jab and looping right hand effectively to control the distance. While Pacquiao had moments of success throughout the night, he never truly settled into a rhythm and was noticeably stiffer than usual, not showcasing the deft footwork that he has been known for throughout his career. Pacquiao himself admitted after the fight that his legs were "tight".
At the final bell, Ugás was awarded a unanimous decision victory with scores of 116–112, 116–112 and 115–113.[12] According toCompuBox, Pacquiao threw over double the number of punches compared to Ugás, but landed fewer, making the latter the far more accurate boxer on the night. Pacquiao landed 130 punches of 815 thrown (16%), while Ugás landed 151 punches of 405 thrown (37.3%).[13]
In his post-fight interview, Pacquiao addressed the speculation that he would imminently retire from the sport of boxing: "I don't know. Let me rest first and relax and make a decision if I fight again."[14] On August 25, Pacquiao said he was considering the idea of a January 2022 rematch against Ugás: "Yes, I can come back in January. I will see about it. I know I can rematch him if I want. I'll just need to tellAl Haymon. That would be no problem."[15]
On September 29, Pacquiao officially announced his retirement from boxing in a post on social media.[16]
Confirmed bouts:[17]
| Weight Class | vs. | Method | Round | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welterweight |  Yordenis Ugás (c) | def. | Manny Pacquiao | UD | 12 (12) | 3:00 | Note 1 |
| Welterweight | Robert Guerrero | def. | Victor Ortiz | UD | 10 (10) | 3:00 | |
| Featherweight | Mark Magsayo (c) | def. |  Julio Ceja | KO | 10 (12) | 0:50 | Note 2 |
| Featherweight | Carlos Castro | def. |  Óscar Escandón | TKO | 10 (10) | 1:08 | |
| Lightweight | Frank Martin | def. | Ryan Kielcweski | UD | 10 (10) | 3:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Steven Torres | def. | Justin Rolfe | TKO | 1 (6) | 2:33 | |
| Super Middleweight | Cameron Sevilla-Rivera | vs. | Burley Brooks | SD | 6 (6) | 3:00 | |
| Super Featherweight | Antonio Contreras | def. | John Leo Dato | UD | 8 (8) | 3:00 | |
| Lightweight | Mickel Clements | def. | Eliseo Villalobos | UD | 4 (4) | 3:00 | |
| Lightweight | Jose Valenzuela | def. | Donte Strayhorn | TKO | 4 (8) | 1:30 |
^Note 1 ForWBA (Super) welterweight title
^Note 2 ForWBC-title Eliminator & WBO International Featherweight title
| Country/Region | Free-to-air | Cable/Satellite | Pay-per-view | Streaming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 United States (host) | — | Fox Sports | ||
| Philippines | CNN Philippines[18]1 GMA Network[19] TV51 A2Z1 | Premier Football[19] Premier Tennis[19] TAP Sports[19] TAP Edge[19] Kapamilya Channel1 | KTX[20] Cignal G Sat SatLite Sky Cable[19] | TapGo[19] Upstream[21][22] WeTV Philippines Cignal Play |
 United Kingdom | — | Sky Sports Main Event[23] | — | Sky Sports Main Event[23] |
 Ireland | ||||
 Australia | — | Main Event onFoxtel[24] and Kayo[25] | ||
 Japan | — | WOWOW Live[26] | — | WOWOW Live[26] |
| Mexico | Box Azteca[27] | — | ||
 Panama | Telemetro[28] | — | ||
 Malaysia | — | Astro Box Office Sport[29] | — | |
 Singapore | — | Fight Sports | — | |
 Indonesia | Indosiar[30] | — | ||
 Thailand | PPTV[31] | — | PPTV | |
| International | — | FITE TV[32] iWantTFC2 TFC IPTV2 | ||
^1 simulcast from GMA Network
^2 outside Philippine territory only
| Preceded by vs. Abel Ramos | Yordenis Ugás's bouts 21 August 2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Manny Pacquiao's bouts 21 August 2021 | Succeeded by |