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Boxing

26th Aug 2021

Manny Pacquiao struggles to open his eyes after brutal boxing defeat

Manny Pacquiao sustained a horrible cut that required five stitches during his defeat in a world title fight against Yordenis Ugas

Reuben Pinder

The boxing legend was defeated by Yordenis Ugas

Manny Pacquiao’s defeat to Cuban Yordenis Ugas has seemingly left the boxing legend struggling to open his eyes, as footage from his wife Jinkee’s Instagram account showed her spoon feeding him.

Pacquiao lost by a unanimous decision in Las Vegas to Ugas, who was only drafted in to compete in the bout in August to replace the injured Errol Spence Jr.

It was Pacquiao’s first since July 2019, when he beat Keith Thurman for the WBA welterweight title.

But his return to the ring didn’t go to plan as he sustained a brutal cut that required five stitches,

As the blow video shows, his facial injuries sustained in the defeat left him unable to feed himself or open his eyes properly for several days.

Rumours of retirement are now rife, but Pacquiao has told The Athletic that he is considering a rematch against “one of the easiest opponents” he has faced, despite losing.

“I know I can rematch him if I want. I’ll just need to tell Al Haymon. That would be no problem,” he said.

“I will think about it because I can’t believe that one of the easiest opponents I ever faced did that.”

Explaining the loss, Pacquiao said: “I should’ve been able to easily move away … you’ve seen how I have moved in my fights before. I couldn’t move in this fight. My legs just … stopped.”

Pacquiao is currently a serving senator in his native Phillipines, so at least if he does retire, as well as the fortune he has earned in boxing, he has his career in politics to fall back on.