Manny Pacquiao's comeback fight is a chance to prove his mettle at 42 -- an age when most boxers have already hung up their gloves -- and score a lucrative payday before a widely expected tilt at the presidency next year
Manny Pacquiao's comeback fight is a chance to prove his mettle at 42 -- an age when most boxers have already hung up their gloves -- and score a lucrative payday before a widely expected tilt at the presidency next year

With just days away from his upcoming fight, Manny Pacquiao still managed to find time for a little fun at the gym.

Before officially ending his training camp, Pacquiao was visited by well-known Filipino actress KC Concepcion, Philippine sports news outlet Spin reported.

Concepcion, who arrived at the Wild Card gym with a few friends with her, “was a surprise visitor” and quickly drew a crowd inside the facility.

However, the highlight of the said visit was Concepcion’s brief chat with Pacquiao, in which she jokingly volunteered to coach the Filipino champ in his world title fight against Yordenis Ugas this weekend.

“I will be your coach [for the Ugas fight], didn’t you know?” Concepcion asked Pacquiao. “I’m gonna be coaching you. Aren’t you happy about it?”

Realizing the actress was just pranking him, Pacquiao wittily replied, “We’ll definitely lose.”

To which Concepcion quickly refuted, “I don’t think so, winner always!”

On a more serious note, Pacquiao’s real coach Freddie Roach isn’t taking Ugas lightly and has revealed what he thinks is the biggest threat in Cuban boxer’s arsenal.

According to Roach, Pacquiao should be mindful of Ugas’ “big overhand right.”

“He always goes for the home run,” Roach recently told reporters of Ugas. “He’s a big puncher and has a big right overhand right.”

“He’s a Cuban fighter with a great background,” he added. “And a lot of people thought he beat Shawn Porter, and that kind of surprised me a little bit.”

Ugas is coming in as a late replacement for Errol Spence Jr., who was forced to withdraw from the fight due to an eye injury.

Nevertheless, Ugas insisted that he has always been “truly prepared” to take on anybody.

"It's all about making adjustments at this point,” Ugas said in online media conference by PBC. “ I've had a lot of experience doing this before fights. It's happened multiple times, so I'm truly prepared at all times to adjust to whatever comes my way. ”

Pacquiao, on the other hand, has admitted that this could be his "last fight." But until then, the world’s only eight-division titlist is looking forward to take back what he believes is his this weekend.

“Ugas stepped up and is bringing his WBA championship into the fight, which I'm excited to fight for,” Pacquiao explained. "I am happy to fight either right-handed or southpaw fighters. It's no problem for me at all to switch the styles that I'm going to face. ”

“Ugas is a champion because they gave him my belt. Now, we have to settle it inside of the ring."

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For now, Pacquiao says his mind is focused on the looming showdown with fellow southpaw Errol Spence, the 31-year-old unbeaten unified welterweight world champion Photo: AFP / TED ALJIBE