Manny Pacquiao Says Leg Cramps Ruined His Fight Against Ugas

Manny Pacquiao says the loss to Yordenis Ugas in 2021 was not simply down to age or tactics, but to a physical issue that hit him before the opening bell. According to Pacquiao, an unusual pre-fight recovery routine caused severe cramping in both legs, leaving him unable to move the way he normally would inside the ring.

Speaking to Inside the Ring, Pacquiao explained that his team used a massage machine before the bout, something he said was not part of his usual preparation.

“For the Ugas fight, we did a routine that we did not usually do before a fight. That’s what happened to me, cramping in both legs.

“Before the fight, we did the massage machine. In the fight, I was cramping and could not move. It was the first time in my career that happened,” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao was 42 years and eight months old when he lost that night. Across the ring was Yordenis Ugas, then 35, naturally bigger at welterweight and strong enough to control the pace with clean right hands throughout much of the fight.

Whenever a legendary fighter loses, there is usually an attempt to explain the defeat without fully accepting that age may have played a role. Pacquiao’s leg cramps may have been real, but the fight suggested there were bigger issues at play.

He still showed flashes of speed and determination, but he struggled to keep his position, cut off the ring, and maintain sustained attacks the way he had in his prime. Ugas stayed disciplined, fought behind his jab, and took advantage whenever Pacquiao left openings.

That is often what decline looks like in elite fighters. The instincts are still there. The bursts of speed still appear in moments. But over the course of a full fight, the body no longer responds the same way.

Pacquiao focusing on the massage machine feels like an attempt to explain away a deeper reality. Even without the cramps, he was facing physical disadvantages that would have been difficult to overcome.

In his prime, Pacquiao’s speed and explosiveness might have made life difficult for Ugas. But at 42, the timing was no longer the same.

It also did not help that Ugas was the naturally larger man at welterweight. Compared to him, Pacquiao looked undersized, almost like a former featherweight trying to push back a much bigger opponent.

For athletes of Pacquiao’s level, accepting that time has caught up with them is never easy. Blaming the loss on leg cramps or a massage machine may offer an explanation, but it does not fully change what people saw in the ring that night.