Yordenis Ugás Says He’s Open To Rematch Pacquiao ‘No Question About It’

Yordenis Ugás silenced the T-Mobile Arena Saturday night with an upset win over Manny Pacquiao, who most fans were chanting for early in the fight. And Ugás said he’d do it all over again.

On Sunday, Ugás said if Pacquiao wants the rematch, he’ll give it to him.

“He can have a rematch,” he said at the post-fight press conference when asked if he’d be willing to fight Pacquiao again. “200 percent. Manny is a great fighter, a legend.

“If he wants a rematch, no question about it. A person like that deserves it. We knew we had to take control of the fight, we knew he was a great fighter, and that’s exactly what I did,” he added.

With the victory, the Cuban fighter retained the super welterweight title belt, which was originally stripped from Pacquiao by the WBA due to inactivity.

During pre-fight press conferences, Pacquiao said that the belt was given to Ugás and they were going to battle it out in the ring to determine the true champion.

Pacquiao, who hadn’t fought in 25 months, had a challenging time trying to land meaningful punches. Ugás is naturally four inches taller than the 5-foot-5 Filipino boxer; Pacquiao had to rely on his legs to help extend his reach for a blow.

Also on Sunday, Pacquiao, 42, said his legs cramped during the second round, limiting his movement for the remainder of the 12-round battle.

“But this time around, it’s like my two legs is tight and hurting me in [the] second round, until 12 rounds. But I’m not making excuses,” he said. “That’s the reason why I cannot move and I just staying countering him, of his punches. That’s what happened, so that’s boxing.”

This isn’t the first time Pacquiao said his loss was due to injury.

After his matchup with Floyd Mayweather, he accredited his loss to an injured right shoulder that prevented him from fighting his best. He underwent surgery after the loss to repair a “significant tear” to his right rotator cuff.

Pacquiao apologized to his fans for the loss, but thanked them for making an effort to watch the fight live. Ugás thanked the Filipino icon for giving him this moment in the ring.

“I’m very excited,” Ugas told FOX Sports. “First of all, I wanna thank Manny Pacquiao for giving me this moment in this ring today. I told you I’m the champion of the WBA and I showed it tonight.”