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The judges scored the fight 115-113 116-112 116-112 in favour of
Ugas, who controlled the second half of the contest with his jab
as the more aggressive Pacquiao struggled to land his punches on
his return to the ring after a two-year absence.
Pacquiao, the only man in boxing history to hold world titles in
eight different divisions and one of the greatest boxers of all
time, said he is yet to decide if he will call time on his
26-year professional career.
"I don't know, let's just see," said Pacquiao, whose record
dropped to 62-8-2. "Let me relax first and make a decision.
"I'm sorry I lost tonight, I did my best but my legs were very
tight and that is why I couldn't move as well as I wanted."
Pacquiao was initially slated to fight WBC and IBF welterweight
champion Errol Spence Jr, but a retinal tear in the American's
left eye forced him to withdraw
https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/
sports/spence-withdraws-pacquiao-fight-with-torn-retina-2021-08-10,
with Ugas agreeing to step in at short notice.
Ugas had been elevated to WBA super champion after Pacquiao was
stripped of the belt because of inactivity, as he had not fought
since July 2019, and the Filipino looked desperate to get it
back.
The clear favourite of the 17,438 fans at the T-Mobile Arena,
southpaw Pacquiao came out aggressively in the early rounds with
his trademark speed and combinations.
Ugas's long reach enabled him to keep the former champion at
arm's length, however, and his jab was proving an effective, if
not fight-winning, weapon.
Pacquiao continued to throw almost twice as many punches as his
opponent, but the Cuban was more accurate with his, and there
was plenty of sting in the big rights he was starting to land
over the top.
The crowd was reduced to a nervous silence as the fight headed
into the final rounds with no sign of the knockout that Pacquiao
needed to come out a winner.
Ultimately, though, Pacquiao's ageing legs had nothing more to
give and Ugas, a bronze medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics,
earned the decision to improve his record to 27-4.
"Now the plan is to unify the title," Ugas, 35, said in the ring
through a translator. "Everyone said he was the champion, now
they know who the real champion is."
Pacquiao also said he would announce next month if he will run
for the presidency of the Philippines next year. He had received
a message of support from incumbent Rodrigo Duterte's
administration.
"The boxing icon's loss in Las Vegas would not diminish the
honours he bestowed to our country and the joy he gave to our
people," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a
statement.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; additional reporting
by Karen Lema; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and William
Mallard)
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