By Matt Lieberman: Manny Pacquiao vs. Yordenis Ugas will surprisingly be selling at the same $74.99 price on FOX Sports PPV, which is the same price as before when Errol Spence Jr was scheduled to face the Manny on August 21st.
Some boxing fans are grumbling about the price for Pacquiao – Ugas staying at the same $74.99 as when IBF/WBC welterweight champion Spence 27-0, 21 KOs) was the opponent for the former eight-division world champion Manny.
Fans wanted to see the price reduced to $60 or less due to Ugas (26-4, 12 KOs) being far less popular than Spence and not considered good enough to beat Pacquiao.
Should the price be reduced for Pacquiao-Ugas?
From a consumer standpoint, when an item has lost value due to it being damaged, people expect it to be lowered rather than kept at the same level.
If you were in the process of purchasing a high-priced antique, you would want the price reduced. If the cashier suddenly dropped the item as they were wrapping it up to sell to you, you would want the price reduced for you to continue your purchase.
In the case of Pacquiao vs. Ugas, the fight is being sold at the same price as when Spence was fighting, and the boxing fans don’t see it as being the same quality match.
But from the perspective of the PBC and FOX, Ugas is a world champion with his WBA 147-lb strap, and there will still be a lot of interest from boxing fans in watching the fight because Pacquiao is fighting.
The card doesn’t necessarily need Spence for it to be a huge PPV success on August 21st, as Pacquiao is popular enough to bring in PPV buys all by himself.
Vergil Ortiz: Pacquiao vs. Ugas is good but weird
“It sucks that Errol is not going to fight. I hope he recovers pretty good,” said Vergil Ortiz Jr to Little Giant Boxing. “Ugas vs. Pacquiao is going to be a good fight.
“I don’t know. It’s kind of weird that they [WBA] stripped Pacquiao and gave it to Ugas, and now Ugas is fighting Pacquiao. It’s kind of weird, you know?
“Now, he’s [Pacquiao] fighting for the belt all over again. That’s why when people ask me what I’m going to do next, I don’t know. Boxing is weird,” said Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Pacquiao vs. Ugas is weird in that with the way fate has played out, Manny is fighting for his recently stripped WBA welterweight title. That is obviously strange because it would have never happened unless Spence had suffered an injury and needed to pull out.
What makes things even more strange is Ugas’ previously scheduled opponent Fabian Maidana suffering an identical eye injury as Spence on the SAME day last Monday during a sparring session.
Out of all the things that could happen in this universe, what are the odds of Spence and Maidana suffering the same type of injury on the same day? It’s so strange that it’s hard to comprehend. Is it fate, or was something else at play that led to Spence pulling out and Ugas being moved up in his place?
If Ugas beat Pacquiao on August 21st, we’ll see Spence return to face the Cuban fighter in 2022, provided his injured left eye heals properly. He’s given a medical clearance to continue fighting.