By: Sean Crose
The broadcast undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Yordenas Ugas welterweight throwdown is admittedly fascinating. This isn’t because anything ground breaking is going to happen, but because it involves fighters whose pairing sparks interest. Of note here is the Victor Ortiz-Robert Guerrero match. These two men were pretty big names in the welterweight division not all that long ago. Indeed, both fighters were in pay per view events against the great Floyd Mayweather. Guerrero was easily handled by Mayweather, while Ortiz went out in spectacular fashion, after Mayweather sucker punched him in response to a blatant Ortiz foul.
Guerrero and Ortiz never met in their primes, but it’s somewhat fascinating (why, I really can’t explain) to see these two get in on now. Their welterweight battle is scheduled for 10 rounds. The 32-6-3 Ortiz was last in action way back in 2018, when he battled Devon Alexander to a draw. Guerrero last fought in 2019, when the judges awarded him an unanimous decision win over Gerald Thomas. Both fighters are likely to see tonight’s battle as an opportunity to get back in the thick of the welterweight division. And who knows? Both men are considerably younger than the 42 year old Pacquiao.
The 26-0 featherweight Carlos Castro will also appear on Saturday’s undercard. He’ll be facing the 26-0 Oscar Escandon in a scheduled 10 rounder for a minor WBC belt. The 27 year old Castro is clearly a fighter on the rise. The 37 year old Escandon, however, is no soft touch. In his last outing the Columbian veteran knocked out the 23-0 Jhack Tepora in the first round. What’s more, most of Escandon’s losses have come at the gloved hands of name fighters like Brandon Figueroa. Escandon doesn’t seem to have the strongest chin…but Castro isn’t exactly a knockout artist, either.
The 22-0 featherweight Mark Magsayo will be on Saturday’s broadcast as well. The 26 year old Filipino will square off against the 28 year old Julio Ceja in a scheduled 12 rounder. The undefeated Magsayo was last in the ring back in April when he knocked out Pablo Cruz in the fourth round. The 32-4-2 Ceja was last in action in 2019, when, after coming in overweight on the scales, he battled the aforementioned Figueroa to a draw.
Tonight’s Pacquiao-Ugas card will be broadcast live on pay per view from Vegas’ T-Mobile arena beginning at 9 PM eastern time.