Pacquiao Still Believes He Would’ve Beaten Spence: 'Speed Was the Difference'

The fight never happened, but Manny Pacquiao is still convinced he would have made it look easy. Originally scheduled to face Errol Spence Jr. on August 21, 2021 at T-Mobile Arena, Pacquiao instead saw the bout collapse just days before fight night when Spence suffered a retinal detachment.

In stepped Yordenis Ugas on 11 days’ notice a replacement that turned into one of the most pivotal moments in Pacquiao’s career. At the time, Pacquiao was riding a late-career resurgence that defied age and expectation.

At 40 years old, he had already scored impressive wins over Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman in 2019, proving he was still elite in one of boxing’s deepest divisions. The pandemic paused his momentum, but when the Spence fight materialized, it immediately became one of the most anticipated welterweight clashes in years.

Oddsmakers, however, saw it differently installing Spence as a heavy favorite, with Pacquiao entering as roughly a +300 underdog. Pacquiao never agreed with that narrative.

Speaking recently on Inside The Ring via DAZN, Pacquiao made it clear he still believes the outcome would have favored him. “Of course I wanted to fight him, because I know I can easily beat him,” Pacquiao said.

“[I would have beaten him] with speed. It’s not about strength… it’s about skills and abilities in the ring and how you move.” For Pacquiao, the formula was simple movement, timing, and ring IQ. The same attributes that helped him become boxing’s only eight-division world champion.

Instead of Spence, Pacquiao faced Ugas and everything unraveled. In what became the final fight of his career, Pacquiao looked uncharacteristically flat, ultimately dropping a unanimous decision. Ugas outlanded him 150-131 and controlled the tempo throughout.

Pacquiao later revealed that a pre-fight issue played a major role in his performance. “In the Ugas fight, I was tight and cramping and could not move for the first time in my career,” he said.

“It would have been different than the Ugas fight [if I fought Spence].” The loss sent Pacquiao into retirement, closing the book on one of the sport’s most iconic careers.