The Requisite Fight Week Rumor Is This: Yordenis Ugas Has Injured Elbow

EARLY THURSDAY EVENING UPDATE: Tim Smith, the ex journo with The NY Times and NY Daily News, is communications head for Haymon Boxing. Ugas is with Premier Boxing Champions, under the Haymon umbrella.

So I messaged Smith, asking to confirm/deny the rumor that Yordenis Ugas significantly injured his elbow. “False,” Smith said. “Just saw him for the satellite media tour. He’s fine.”

**********************************************************************************************************************

Two days away from the big bout in Las Vegas, the ring return of Manny Pacquiao, and, no surprise, the rumor mill is churning hard.

Yordenis Ugas has an elbow injury, he might be out of the fight. 

That’s a version of the chatter popping up on social media.

So I started asking around. One high level person who’d know, who is good about getting back to me, didn’t answer my query, when I asked about the legitimacy of the rumor.

I called another fightgame lifer, with finger always on the pulse, and that person told me yes, that rumor is making the rounds, and it may well have legs.

Could organizers right now be figuring out their play, whether they need a sub for Ugas, who subbed in for Errol Spence? “Maybe,” my source said.

He then told me to hold the line, he was going to talk to a mover ‘n shaker who’d know without even a partial shadow of doubt if Ugas was injured to the extent his participation in the welterweight title clash is looking unlikely.

Ten minutes later, my source messaged me: “I think it’s just a rumor.”

Noted. Hey, it wouldn’t be a big bout fight week without that rumor mill doing a flex, would it?