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“RETIREMENT!”: Damian Lillard, Kendrick Perkins and NBA World React to Manny Pacquiao’s shocking loss to Yordenis Ugas

Published 08/22/2021, 1:57 AM EDT

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Manny Pacquiao is arguably one of the finest boxers the world has ever seen. With his incredible speed, agility and power, the Philippine boxer has had immense amount of success in his career.

While ‘Pac-Man’ had won the Super Welterweight title after defeating Keith Thurman in 2019, the 42-year-old hadn’t defended his title yet. This meant that the title was up for grabs. Enter Yordenis Ugas. Ugas who has been making some noise in the boxing circuit for the last few years. In an 11-1 run, the 35-year-old captured the Welterweight belt.

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But Pacquiao wasn’t going to let go off of his title and set the date for a battle against the defending champion. Given the ‘Pac-Man’ was making his return to the court for the first time 2 years, fans were pretty excited to see how this match-up between Ugas and Pacquiao panned out.

Yordenis Ugas dominates Manny Pacquiao to retain Welterweight title

The hype surrounding the matchup between Ugas and Pacquiao was immense. While the 42-year-old was coming off of a 2-year layoff, their is no doubting the quality the Philipine brings to the table.

The fight got off to a blistering start. Defending champion Ugas came out all guns blazing and dominated the veteran. Landing some incredible shots, it didn’t seem like Ugas was coming off of a short notice for the fight.

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While in many instances it seemed like a knockout was imminent, Pacquiao held his own. Taking the fight all the way to the 12th round, the Philipine boxer certainly showed incredible resolve in the matchup.

But given how dominant Ugas had looked all over the match, the 35-year-old was the clear standout boxer in the matchup. The 35-year-old was rewarded accordingly as he was declared as the unanimous winner in the game.

NBA reacts to Ugas vs Pacquiao

Given the incredible amount of hype surrounding the fight, the sports world was glued to their TV sets for this marquee matchup. Multiple NBA stars and media who are currently enjoying their off-season were no exception.

From the likes of superstar Damian Lillard to analysts like Kendrick Perkins and Skip Bayless reacted to the game between Ugas and the veteran Pacquiao.

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This matchup between Pacquiao and Ugas might have been the last we might have seen of the Philipine legend. Do you think the legendary boxer will hang his boots for good this time?

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Written by:

Aditya Mohapatra

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Aditya Mohapatra is a sports enthusiast who primarily covers the NBA for EssentiallySports. Having graduated in Mass Communication, he has prior experience in writing for ABP News, and has been writing for EssentiallySports since November 2020. This die-hard Los Angeles Lakers fan feels that LeBron James is the best thing to have ever happened to the NBA, and will hold a healthy debate with anyone suggesting otherwise.
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