Legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao is ready to make his return to the ring. After nearly two full years away, “PacMan” is back in Las Vegas in the main event of a PBC on Fox PPV event to take on WBA titleholder Yordenis Ugas.
Pacquiao earned the WBA strap in last outing with a decision win over Keith Thurman in September 2019. But with the Filipino legend out of commission, the sanctioning body promoted him to “champion in recess” to open up the title once more to the rest of the division.
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Ugas, meanwhile, is not someone who can be looked over. At 35, the Cuban has just one defeat in 12 trips to the ring since 2015 with the lone loss coming by disputed decision to Shawn Porter for the vacant WBC title. He’s taken on some of the best in the world at 147 pounds, including victories over Jamal James, Thomas Dulorme, Ray Robinson, Omar Figueroa Jr. and Abel Ramos.
It’s sure to be a busy night as a WBA champion is crowned with the hopes of one day unifying with either Spence or WBO champion and pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford.
Three more bouts fill out the undercard in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Most notably, a pair of veterans meet in the co-main event when Robert Guerrero and Victor Ortiz meet at welterweight. Guerrero, 38, is back after his own two-year hiatus and enters on a three-fight win streak. This comes after a brief retirement in 2017 following a three-fight skid. Ortiz, 34, has not fought since February 2018 while facing sexual assault allegations that were dismissed in December 2020. He has not won since a July 2017 knockout. Plus, Filipino prospect Mark Magsayo gets his chance to move closer to gold when he takes on former champion Julio Ceja in a WBC title eliminator at featherweight.
Here’s how you can catch all the action in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Viewing information
- Date: Aug. 21 | Location: T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas
- Start time: 9 p.m. ET (main event set approximately for midnight ET)
- How to watch: FOX PPV | Price: $74.99
- Stream: Fox Sports app
Pacquiao vs. Ugas fight card, odds
- Manny Pacquiao -360 vs. Yordenis Ugas +280, WBA welterweight championship
- Robert Guerrero -125 vs. Victor Ortiz -105, welterweight
- Mark Magsayo -270 vs. Julio Ceja +220, WBC featherweight title eliminator
- Carlos Castro -1100 vs. Oscar Escandon +700, featherweight
