Manny Pacquiao‘s manager Sean Gibbons has revealed his regret in signing off one fight in particular for the Filipino great.
‘PacMan’ made a sensational return to the ring last month as he challenged reigning WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 19.
Despite the best efforts of the 46-year-old eight-division world champion, the fight was declared a majority decision draw with two out of the three judges at ringside scoring the bout 114-114 even, whilst the other had it 115-113 in favour of Barrios.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine, Pacquiao’s manager Gibbons shared his thoughts on Pacquiao’s 2021 clash with former WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas, who was drafted in as a late notice replacement after Errol Spence Jr pulled out of facing ‘PacMan’.
“It’s real simple, you’re fighting a 5-foot-10 southpaw. Next thing you know, you’re fighting a [expletive] octopus, the worst possible style for Manny Pacquiao. We rolled the dice and came up with snake eyes, it was a horrible choice and I blame myself a lot for it. Manny ultimately said, ‘Hey, the show has gotta go on,’ because that’s the kind of guy Manny is. But we made a mistake there, it can all be made up for with a win here.”
Ugas pulled off the performance of a lifetime to defeat Pacquiao via unanimous decision when they clashed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in June of 2021, successfully defending his WBA world title at 147lbs in the process.
Ugas couldn’t capitalise on this impressive victory however, as he suffered consecutive defeats to Errol Spence Jr and Barrios in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
As for Pacquiao, he has announced that he plans to return to the ring in December following his draw with Barrios earlier this summer.
