Ugas knew he was going to beat Pacquiao: 'I felt it coming into the fight'

Even before stepping onto the ring against the legend Manny Pacquiao, Cuban boxer Yordenis Ugas knew he was going to walk away with the win.

And that was exactly what happened when the 35-year-old fighter pulled a huge upset over the Filipino boxer after a unanimous decision victory on Sunday as he retained the WBA welterweight title.

"I knew deep down inside he wasn’t going to beat me tonight. I felt it coming into the fight and that’s what happened," Ugas said in Spanish during the post-match press conference.

Ugas, a younger and much taller athlete than the Filipino rep, came in as a late replacement after original foe Errol Spence Jr. backed out due to eye injury.

But although it was only an 11-day notice, Ugas stressed he came prepared in a match that could be the last fight of Pacquiao.

According to Ugas, he and his trainer Ismael Salas had laid out a game plan that he successfully executed in the thrilling 12-round bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

"That was the key to the fight, move him...and keep him off balance. That was the whole game plan," he explained.

Ugas also said that his win was bigger than sport as he tried to prove that Cubans can compete in—and win—big fights.

"Listen, I’ve been living under Manny Pacquiao’s shadow for a year. Now, like he said, we’re going to fight in the ring and find out who the champion is and we decide that in the ring," Ugas added.

"I’m very very emotional. A lot of people say that Cubans can’t win the big fight."

The victory improved Ugas' record to 27-4 while Pacquiao dropped his to 62-8-2.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News