LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao faces a guy on Saturday night (Sunday noon in Manila) who is a mirror-image of himself more than 20 years ago here.
The stakes are almost identical; the setting nearly the same.
Yordenis Ugas of Cuba, who was thrusted into a main event fighter after original foe Errol Spence was forced to withdraw due to a failed eye exam, was called in at the last minute to save the show from being axed.
In June 2001, Pacquiao was very much like Ugas: unknown, unpopular and unmarketable.
But Pacquiao, slighted by the oversight, came up with a rousing performance that he took the thunder from Oscar De La Hoya, the night’s top draw.
Soon afterwards, the ring announcer Michael Buffer began practicing how to say his name correctly, possibly knowing that he would be tasked to do more intros in the future.
True enough, Buffer would do just that, doing countless Pacquiao introductions not only in Las Vegas but in such exotic locales such as Malaysia, Australia, Macau and even in the Philippines.
Tonight, Pacquiao will likely be reminded of that one, hot June day more than two decades ago when he scored a win against Lehlo Ledwaba to bag the world super-bantamweight crown.
