Pacquiao no longer at his peak, but still an all-time great who should get past Ugas

Before the Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas clash on August 21 (August 22 in Manila), GMA Sports spoke to boxing analysts JM Siasat and Rafe Bartholomew to break down the fight and figure out what to expect in the WBA welterweight world championship bout.

Manny Pacquiao, at his peak, was one of the greatest to ever set foot inside the ring.

When he goes face-to-face with Yordenis Ugas for the WBA welterweight world championship on August 21, Saturday (Sunday in Manila), at 42 years old and with a two-year layoff, he might not look like the same fighter most remember.

But for boxing analysts JM Siasat and Rafe Bartholomew, the Filipino legend should have more than enough to get past his Cuban opponent.

“Peak Manny was everything altogether. It was the point, that period, 2008 to 2011, when he developed, after he had been with Freddie Roach for already mga 7 years, and developed his right hand, was fully two-handed, dangerous fighter throwing some of the fastest, most unpredictable combinations that you could. No fighter could catch up to his rhythm, his foot speed, the way he was moving in and out, and the combinations he would throw,” Bartholomew said.

Bartholomew, a former boxing writer for The Athletic, pointed to Pacquiao’s fight with Miguel Cotto in 2009 as the prime example of peak Pacquiao. Despite the Puerto Rican star doing damage to Pacquiao early, the Filipino would overwhelm his highly-touted opponent in a 12-round TKO.

“Cotto came to fight. He burst Manny's eardrums in that fight in the 2nd round, and then in the 3rd round, all of a sudden, the speed of Pacquiao just starts to overwhelm Cotto and it became a one-sided beatdown but the kind of performance that made you say, 'Oh my God, he really could maybe beat Mayweather if they have fought right there.' Of course, we wait more what, 5, 10 more years until they finally do it. But, you know, what can you do,” Bartholomew added.

Siasat does not expect to see that same Pacquiao enter the ring versus Ugas.

“There is a time in your career wherein you would hit your absolute best, your absolute peak, and then there's nowhere else to go but down. It could be gradual in some cases, in some boxers mabilis 'yung pag-decline nila,” Siasat said.

He does, however, see some of Pacquiao’s best qualities to hold up.

“But Manny Pacquiao at 42 years old, still has a hell of a footwork, napakabilis pa rin ng kamay, and as they always say, 'the power is the last one to go,' so definitely, intact pa rin 'yung power nung Manny Pacquiao. But is he the same fighter? Of course not.”

Siasat says Pacquiao no longer fights with the same workrate, the same punch output, that he was capable of in his prime. But he still possesses some of the fastest hand speed in the division.

“Yes, mabilis pa rin si Manny Pacquiao and arguably siya pa rin ang pinakamabilis na fighter at the 147-pound division. But is he as fast back in 2008, 2011? No. He is not as fast, but he is, you know, even na bumaba na 'yon, na nag-decline na 'yon, he's still the fastest among the welterweights out there. That's how crazy Manny Pacquiao is as an athlete. He is just a freak athlete if you look at it,” Siasat added.

Though he’s no longer the overwhelming ‘Tazmanian Devil’ in the ring that once was, both Siasat and Bartholomew agree that his age should not be too big of a concern in this fight. Both analysts pointed out that as Pacquiao advances in age, he has become more of a strategic, 12-round fighter who uses his speed and power to completely control fights rather than hunt for knockouts. And that should be enough against a fighter of Ugas’ quality.

“The idea that eventually, the great cliche in all of sports, 'father time is undefeated,' is that finally coming for him now? I think if he is fighting Errol Spence as planned, I'll be much more worried about that affecting the fight than I am now. But because it's Ugas, who is still a very good fighter but not quite as difficult a challenge as Spence, I'm less worried,” Bartholomew said.

“Manny Pacquiao, even though he is past it, he is not just a hall of famer, he is past that, this man is an all-time great. He is an ATG, he is not just a hall of famer,” Siasat added.

“One thing about all-time greats, is that they are always capable of fighting beyond their best, beyond their primes, and they are always beating some class B fighters out there. We've seen it over and over again with the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, the likes of Roberto Duran - Roberto Duran fought until he was 50, and still was able to beat class B fighters.”

Watch Pacquiao's fight against Ugas for the WBA welterweight title on Sunday, August 22 (Manila time) on GMA Network and listen for blow-by-blow updates on Super Radyo DZBB.

—JMB, GMA News