LAS VEGAS — The Cuban duo of Yordenis Ugas and Ismael Salas expressed their belief on Wednesday that Manny Pacquiao doesn’t have enough ammo to win Saturday night’s welterweight war via knockout.
“I’m certain that he cannot knock me out. I’ve done all the preparation over these past six years to get in this position, I’ve hit my stride and I just don’t believe I can be stopped by Manny,” Ugas, who will be defending his World Boxing Organization 147-lb crown at T-Mobile Arena.
Salas, who has been calling the shots in Ugas’ corner in his last 12 fights, was more analytical about his observation.
“He’s been dropping his opponents but he just couldn’t finish them off,” Salas said.
Last time, Pacquiao sent Keith Thurman down in the first round but was unable to close out the show the way he used to.
Salas even noted that after the sixth round with Thurman, Pacquiao started to slow down and his 35-year-old fighter is expected to exploit it.
“I have prepared for 12 hard rounds. If this is Pacquiao’s final fight, then he’s going to be up against a guy who brought his best and who is a world-class fighter,” Ugas, holder of a 26-4 mark with 12 knockouts, said.
Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach swears Pacquiao looks poised to score an abbreviated win and boost his 62-7-2 win-loss-draw record with 39 knockouts.
“His work ethic today is as good as it was 20 years ago. He’s been unbelievable in training and sparring for this fight. I don’t know if it was a bigger confidence boost for me or Manny, but I’m expecting this fight to end in a knockout the way he’s been looking.”
Pacquiao, 42, refuses to say how the fight is going to end but given the subplot behind the matchup, the eight-division champion is out for redemption.
The crown Ugas is risking once belonged to him.
Without stepping into the ring, Pacquiao was stripped of the title for his inactivity and the World Boxing Association handed it over to Ugas, who had won a title elimination bout.
“It’s not right for somebody to take something away without fighting. You lose a title on top of the ring and not outside the ring,” the 42-year-old Pacquiao said.
Salas believes that he knows the secret to beating Pacquiao.
In fact, he claims that his handprints were all over Pacquiao’s world title fight loss in Thailand 22 years ago and that he has won all his corner wars with Roach.
The Cuban guru said he helped train Medgoen 3K Battery against Pacquiao in their September 1999 showdown for the Filipino lefty’s World Boxing Council (WBC) fly throne.
“He (3K Battery) was from my gym. We had to train together, spar together,” said Salas, who wasn’t at ringside in Nakhon Si Thammarat but made it clear he had a hand in that stunning third-round knockout victory.
Pacquiao had been severely dehydrated by the time he went up the ring after failing to make the 112-lb limit.
The WBC had already stripped him and 3K Battery took full advantage and took out Pacquiao with a body shot in the third round.
Salas was in Thailand at that time helping the country shore up its preparation for the Olympic Games.
Later on, Salas was widely credited for producing two Olympic gold medals and six professional world titlists.
Asked about his head-to-head matchup with Roach, Salas insists he has won every fight with a Roach fighter.
“I don’t know how many times but I have never lost to Freddie Roach,” he said.
“I don’t like to say it. It’s respect. I don’t fight with Freddie. I train my fighters to bring the best in each fight. I respect everyone because in boxing, you know, everybody makes sacrifices. To be a trainer is hard.”
Give the first round to Salas and Ugas.
