One question surrounding the future of eight-time division champion Manny Pacquiao may have been answered. Although it remains unclear, the 42-year-old appears to be entertaining thoughts of a rematch against WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas.
“Yes, I can come back in January. I will see about it,” Pacquiao told The Athletic. “I know I can rematch him if I want. I’ll just need to tell (promoter) Al Haymon. That would be no problem.”
While that would be music to the ears of most, there are factors to consider. One is that Pacquiao will be turning 43 in December. The other is that January would be near the 2022 Philippine elections where the PacMan could run for president.
Either way, Ugas is open to giving Pacquiao a rematch. He acknowledges that he is honored to face a legend like the Filipino boxing icon and would grant a rematch if he wanted one.
“You know, Manny’s a great legend, great fighter. You know, if he wants a rematch, no question about it. You know, a legend like that deserves it,” Ugas said via Boxingscene.com.
Assuming Pacquiao does decide to fight again in January, he needs to make sure that he properly prepares. Aside from that, he also needs to make sure that he is 100% focused.
Some feel that the boxer-senator was not mentally prepared against Ugas who came in as a late replacement for Errol Spence Jr. Spence begged off at the last minute after he was found to have a torn retina.
Arlo Chavez, a former Olympic boxer who won multiple gold medals for the Philippines believes that Pacquiao can continue to fight until he is 51. But for him to be successful, he needs to give attention to detail and focus entirely on Ugas. Chavez gave his analysis in Filipino when he appeared on the Sports Bytes PH podcast recently.
When asked to assess the last fight of Pacquiao against Ugas, Chavez felt that he saw a different Pacquiao. The focus was there and proof of that is that he was only able to adjust to the taller Cuban later.
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