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Philippines, 22 Jul 2025 |
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Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas Philippines Versus Cuba V 2.0 By Teodoro Medina Reynoso PhilBoxing.com Fri, 20 Aug 2021  Manny Pacquiao takes on Yordenis Ugas on August 21 Saturday night (August 22 Sunday morning in the Philippines) in Las Vegas, Nevada for the WBA welterweight super championship to be aired live worldwide via pay per view. It will the fifth top level meeting between the Philippines and Cuba in the new millennium but the second in one week following the Johnriel Casimero vs Guillermo Rigondeaux WBO world bantamweight match in Carson City, California. Top Cuban and Filipino fighters have been among the most prized recruits in the American boxing circuit since before the last World War and even after Fidel Castro in the early 60s banned professional boxing as "decadent Western influence" in the Caribbean Island republic. But due to fact that they emerged in different eras and mainly due to the difference in weight classes where they fought, clashes between the best Filipino and Cuban fighters have been few and far in between especially at world championship level. Ceferino Garcia who fought at top level before the war both at welterweight and middleweight where he challenged for the world championship came before the likes of Kid Gavilan, Benny Paret, Manuel Luis Rodriguez and Jose Napoles who fought already in the 50s and the 60s. The earliest nearest Philippines versus Cuba world championship clash could have happened in the 1960s when Ultimio Sugar Ramos, the then Cuban exile turned Mexican world featherweight champion and another exile, Spain-based Jose Legra were projected against then long reigning world junior lightweight king Gabriel Flash Elorde. But those plans never came to fruition. The first real Philippines versus Cuba world championship clash would happen already in the new millennium. 
Michael Farenas Vs Yuriorkis Gamboa December 2, 2012 And curiously, it happened in one of the supporting bouts underneath the main event fourth clash between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez held in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 2, 2012 when Michael Farenas challenged Cuban ex Olympian Yuriorkis Gamboa for the interim WBA super featherweight title. Gamboa outboxed Farenas for most of the contest and though Farenas managed a late round knockdown, he lost by unanimous decision. It was a triple whammy night as Pacquiao and Mercito Gesta also went down in defeats in their non title and title bouts, Gesta in a failed bid for the WBC lightweight crown versus slick Mexican Miguel Vasquez. 
Nonito Donaire Jr Vs Guillermo Rigondeaux, April 13, 2013 The next Philippines versus Cuba world championship clash occurred a year later when Nonito Donaire Jr and Guillermo Rigondeaux fought in a world title unification at super bantamweight in New York City on April 13, 2013. Rigondeaux, only in his 12th professional fight, showed why he was named El Chacal or The Jackal by outfoxing and outbound Donaire on the way to a 12 round unanimous decision victory. As per Wiki account of the fight: On 13 April 2013, Rigondeaux fought in a unification bout against WBO and The Ring champion Nonito Donaire at Radio City Music Hall, New York. Rigondeaux left his trainer Jorge Rubio in order to start training with his former amateur trainer Pedro Diaz for this fight. Donaire came into the fight as the No. 5 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. In front of a sellout crowd of 6,145, Rigondeaux defeated Donaire by unanimous (114–113, 115–112, and 116–111) decision, though the fight was considered much wider than the scorecards indicated, becoming the unified WBA (Super), WBO, The Ring and lineal super bantamweight champion. Rigondeaux frustrated Donaire early and often with his quick lead right hook, and left hand. Rigondeaux would continue to land the cleaner punches and dip out of range from Donaire for the first nine rounds of the fight. In the tenth-round, while Rigondeaux attempted to clinch with Donaire, he was pushed off and caught with a left hook from Donaire, sending him to the canvas. Rigondeaux appeared to hurt Donaire with a straight left early in the twelfth-round, when Donaire covered up a severely swollen right eye and began bleeding from his mouth. Rigondeaux ended the round and fight targeting Donaire with his left hand, backing Donaire up. Rigondeaux landed 129 of 396 punches thrown (33%) and Donaire landed 82 of his 352 thrown (23%). Donaire was outlanded in 11 rounds. RingTV.com scored it 117–110 in favor of Rigondeaux, and HBO's Harold Lederman had it 118–109 for him. Donaire's purse was $1.32 million and Rigondeaux earned a career-high $750,000 purse. The fight averaged 1.1 million viewers on HBO. Rigondeaux made it three in a row for Cuba when he outpointed Drian Francisco in 2015. 
Drian Francisco Vs Guillermo Rigondeaux, November 21, 2015 Wiki account of the fight goes: On 13 November 2015 it was announced that Rigondeaux would return to the United States after 23 months, and his first fight in 11 months on the Cotto-Canelo PPV undercard on 21 November 2015, at the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas against 33 year old Filipino boxer Drian Fancisco (28-3-1, 22 KOs). Rigondeaux won the fight via unanimous decision (97-93, 100-90 twice) in a very one-sided fight to claim the vacant WBC International Silver super bantamweight title. 
Johnriel Casimero Vs Guillermo Rigondeaux, August 14, 2021 Cuba was therefore clear out in front of its head to head duel with the Philippines in boxing when Premier Boxing Champions of partners Floyd Mayweather Jr and Al Haymon announced that Guillermo Rigondeaux who had gone down to the bantamweight and won a secondary WBA belt would challenge Filipino WBO world bantamweight champion Johnriel Casimero on August 14, 2021. As a result and in acknowledgment of Rigondeaux's record and reputation, the Cuban was installed as pre fight favorite by most odds makers in the USA. But Casimero proved the oddsters wrong by scoring a 12 round split decision victory over Rigondeaux, earning for the Philippines its first win in four head to head duel against the Cubans. Wiki recorded: Rigondeaux challenged the reigning WBO bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero on 14 August 2021] It was announced on 19 June that WBC champion Nonito Donaire would replace Rigondeaux, but when the fight between Casimero and Donaire fell apart over insults directed at the latter's wife, Rigondeaux stepped back in to fight Casimero as had been originally planned. His WBA (Regular) title was not on the line, as the WBA stripped him of the title upon his entry into the ring "due to restrictions on behalf of the WBO". In a low-key affair that saw the CompuBox record broken for fewest combined landed punches in a 12-round fight, Casimero pressured his opponent all night, fighting on the front foot and throwing more punches than Rigondeaux, who was reluctant to engage. Casimero was rewarded with a split decision victory, with scores of 117-111 and 116-112 in his favor, and 115-113 in favor of Rigondeaux. Will it be 3-2 or 4-1? Abangan. The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.  |
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