The much-anticipated welterweight title fight between eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao and Errol Spence Jr. is now off after the WBC and IBF champion suffered a retinal tear in his left eye. The injury was discovered during the pre-fight medical exam, forcing Spence's withdrawal and leading Pacquiao to face Cuba's Yordenis Ugas on August 21 instead.
PBC announced the stunning development on Tuesday, a day after the Nevada State Athletic Commission conducted the exam on Spence. The gravity of Spence's injury was that he has to undergo surgery immediately on Wednesday to fix his torn retina.
Spence disappointed that Pacquiao fight won't push through
Spence issued a statement following the sad news, saying that he is very disappointed that he won't fight Manny Pacquiao on August 21. Spence said that he was excited about the fight, but doctors found a tear in his left eye and decided there was no way he could fight in that condition.
Spence remained optimistic, however, posting on Twitter that he came back from worse. If you may recall, Spence figured in a horrific one-car crash back in October 2019 that resulted in the boxing champion having a lengthy stay in the hospital. Spence said he would be back to face the winner of Pacquiao's next match.
Pacquiao's next opponent is none other than WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas. He was scheduled to defend his crown against Fabian Maidana in the main support bout to the Pacquiao vs. Spence clash. Maidana, however, suffered an injury during sparring on Monday, forcing him to withdraw from the Ugas bout.
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Pacquiao and Ugas to settle WBA dispute in the ring
Pacquiao will be trying to steal Ugas' WBA welterweight title that was his, to begin with. The 42-year-old captured the WBA championship belt in July 2019 when he defeated then-champion Keith Thurman for his biggest victory in years. He went into a long hiatus, though, forcing the WBA to give the belt to Ugas and recognize him as their new welterweight champion.
Pacquiao's camp cried foul with the WBA's decision as the future Hall of Famer wanted to enter his fight with Spence with a championship belt of his own. As luck would have it, the two champions can settle this issue once and for all in the ring to determine the rightful owner of the WBA welterweight title.
Ugas enters the fight against Pacquiao with a 26-4 record, with 12 of his wins coming by way of knockout. The 35-year-old won a bronze medal for Cuba in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and dropped a controversial decision to Shawn Porter in his only title shot back in 2019. He will face his toughest test against Pacquiao, who carries a 62-7-2 record with 39 knockouts.
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