Mendoza: For Ugas, nothing to lose, everything to gain

MANNY Pacquiao is that massively favored. The lone dissenter is Yordenis Ugas’s mother.

Look at the disparity. Your P350 for Pacquiao will only win P100. And your P100 for Ugas will earn more than double: P275.

Pacquiao will prevail because he practically has all the right reasons to win it.

In fact, Pacquiao is doubly driven to beat Ugas on Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021 (PH time) in his 22nd fight in Las Vegas, Nevada.

By defeating Ugas, Pacquiao will recapture the title stolen from him without a single punch thrown, and install himself as the rightful world welterweight champion again.

In January, officials of the World Boxing Association, citing inactivity, lifted the crown from Pacquiao’s head and gave it to Ugas.

“That was unfair,” said Pacquiao. “Every title must be contested atop the ring.”

After defeating Keith Thurman by split decision in July 2019, Pacquiao was forced to lie low when Covid-19 started wreaking havoc on mankind in March 2020.

So devastating was the virus that it canceled major global events last year, including Wimbledon, the British Open golf and the Tokyo Olympics.

Nipped in the bud, too, were planned Pacquiao fights. Only when health restrictions were eased was Pacquiao able to ink a fight against Errol Spence Jr.

But then, 10 days before the Pacquiao-Spence bout, Spence had to back out because of a torn retina.

Since Ugas was in the Pacquiao-Spence undercard, he became the logical replacement for Spence.

No doubt this is the biggest break in Ugas’s otherwise dull career.

Never mind that at age 35, Ugas has a 26-4, win-loss mark, with 12 knockouts. Not that impressive.

But up against a living legend like Pacquiao (62-7-2, with 39 KOs), Ugas has nothing to lose but everything to gain.

A victory by the 5-foot-9 Cuban will absolutely rewrite history, which is every boxer’s dream when pitted against the 5-foot-6 Pacquiao, the sport’s only eight-division world champion.

Some say time is not on Pacquiao’s side. At 42, his speed, power and stamina might be waning?

It gives me the creeps.

All great fighters bow to only one: Father Time.

But if we go by his corner’s word, Pacquiao is gazelle-fast as ever.

That puts Ugas in real, more serious trouble.