BREAKING NEWS: Errol Spence Jr. Won’t Be Fighting Manny Pacquiao Due To Eye Injury, Yordenis Ugás Will Step In
UPDATE: Fabian Maidana, who was scheduled to fight Ugás, suffered a similar eye injury to Spence after sparring Tuesday. He also withdraws from the fight card. More news to follow.
Errol Spence Jr. will not be stepping in the ring with eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao next weekend.
Spence, the current WBC and IBF world champion, will be out due to a torn retina in his left eye, Dan Rafael reported Tuesday. Yordenis Ugás, who was on the undercard defending his welterweight title, will take his place.
BREAKING: Errol Spence Jr. is out of the Manny Pacquiao fight next week due to a torn retina in his left eye. Yordenis Ugas, who was on the undercard defending his welterweight title, will step in and take his place. #boxing #PacquiaoSpence #PacquiaoUgas
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) August 10, 2021
Ugás (26-4, 12 KOs) is coming off a September 2020 win, where he claimed his WBA belt over Abel Ramos. The Cuban boxer previously had an eight-fight winning streak, but it was scathed by Shawn Porter in the WBC world title fight in 2019.
Just moments after the news of Spence’s injury, Pacquiao took to Twitter and wished a speedy recovery.
I pray for a full and complete recovery for @ErrolSpenceJr.
— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) August 10, 2021
Spence, 31, said in an interview on Thursday that he respected the Filipino boxer, but was looking to “retire” him after their bout in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Below is the rest of the fight card.
- Robert Guerrero vs. Victor Ortiz, welterweight
- Mark Magsayo vs. Julio Ceja, featherweight