Manny Pacquiao was beaten by Yordenis Ugas by unanimous decision in Las Vegas as the Cuban retained his WBA welterweight title with just 11 days' notice before the fight.
Ugas grabbed his chance as the late injury replacement for Errol Spence Jnr, frustrating Pacquiao in what the 42-year-old Filipino senator admitted could be the final fight of his career.
The 35-year-old Ugas (27 wins, 4 defeats) threw fewer punches than Pacquiao (67-8-2), but his blows were more precise. Pacquiao struggled to get inside Ugas's jab, while the champion landed his right hand to increasing effect in the later rounds.
Two judges scored it 116-112 for Ugas, and a third had it 115-113.
After an unimpressive performance in his return from the longest layoff of his 25 years career, Pacquiao said he has not decided whether he will fight again. He also wouldn’t confirm whether he will enter the Philippines’ presidential race, as is widely expected.
“Let me rest first before my family and I make a decision,” Pacquiao said.
The victory was the culmination of a lengthy journey for Ugas, who defected from Cuba two years after winning a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics. Ugas quit boxing for two years midway through the last decade, but recovered his career and capitalised on this unexpected shot against one of the greatest fighters of this era, earning his 12th victory in 13 fights.
“I’m very excited, but most of all, I want to thank Manny Pacquiao for giving me this moment in this ring today,” Ugas said through a translator. “We only had two weeks of training, but I listened to my corner and it all worked out.
“He’s a great competitor, but I came in here to show I am the champion of the WBA. A lot of respect for him, but I won this fight.”
Ugas got this opportunity only last week when Spence was forced to drop out after discovering he had a torn retina during a pre-fight physical. Ugas had been booked on the undercard, but he seized the opportunity for the spotlight and payday that had been just out of reach since he left Cuba on a small boat bound for Mexico 11 years ago.
T-Mobile Arena appeared to be sold out despite the late opponent change, and the crowd of 17,438 was behind their Filipino hero.
Pacquiao had won three straight bouts since July 2017, but he hadn’t fought since beating Keith Thurman in 2019 to win the WBA welterweight title.
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GROUP RESULTS
Group A
Results
Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs
Group B
Results
Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
World Sevens Series standing after Dubai
1. South Africa
2. New Zealand
3. England
4. Fiji
5. Australia
6. Samoa
7. Kenya
8. Scotland
9. France
10. Spain
11. Argentina
12. Canada
13. Wales
14. Uganda
15. United States
16. Russia
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Score
Third Test, Day 1
New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
