LAS VEGAS – Shawn Porter distinctly remembers the intensity Yordenis Ugas brought to the ring the night they fought for Porter’s WBC welterweight title two years ago.

That was about the only thing about Ugas that surprised Porter, who won a controversial split decision in March 2019 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Challenging Porter represented the Cuban contender’s first world title shot and Porter sensed Ugas treated their fight as if it might be his only chance to become a world champion.

Ugas has been presented with an even bigger opportunity Saturday night, a FOX Sports Pay-Per-View showdown with one of the most iconic, influential boxers in the history of the sport. Manny Pacquiao has been established as more than a 3-1 favorite entering their 12-round fight for Ugas’ WBA “super” welterweight title, but Porter expects Ugas to test the 42-year-old southpaw.

The Philippines’ Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) will fight for the first time in more than two years when he squares off against Ugas (26-4, 12 KOs). He hasn’t boxed since he narrowly defeated then-unbeaten Keith Thurman by split decision in July 2019 at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

In Porter’s opinion, inactivity and age are only two of the obstacles Pacquiao must overcome versus the taller, skillful Ugas. Though Ugas has a low knockout ratio (40 percent), Porter anticipates Pacquiao will have difficulty dealing with the 2008 Olympian’s strength.

“I think Ugas is gonna present strength and some power that Manny may not be used to,” Porter told BoxingScene.com. “Yordenis is a very durable guy. He’ll be right in line for Manny to hit him, but I don’t think Yordenis Ugas is gonna go away quietly. You know, so I think he’s gonna impose his strength and that in itself will be the biggest challenge for Manny.”

Ugas definitely didn’t go away quietly when he opposed Porter, who will call the Pacquiao-Ugas show for FOX.

One judge, Zachary Young, scored nine of the 12 rounds for Ugas, who won 117-111 on his card. The two other judges, Max De Luca and Steve Morrow, scored their closely contested encounter for Porter, 115-113 and 116-112, respectively.

Porter envisions judges Dave Moretti, Patricia Morse Jarman and Steve Weisfeld determining the outcome of Pacquiao-Ugas as well.

Pacquiao has recorded only one knockout in his past 16 fights, a stretch that dates back to 2010. The 35-year-old Ugas hasn’t been knocked out during a pro career that spans 11 years and 30 fights.

Though Pacquiao often has succeeded against taller opponents, he’ll have to deal with a significant size disadvantage against the 5-feet-9 Ugas.

“I knew that there would a significant size difference,” Porter said. “There kind of always is with me and Manny. We’re smaller guys in the division, in terms of height. But if there’s anything you can say about Manny Pacquiao, it’s that he has all the experience it takes to overcome virtually anything in the ring. I think the one time we weren’t able to see him overcome something was in his fight against Floyd Mayweather.

‘But that’s Floyd Mayweather, and there’s only one of those out there. So, when you talk about the size, for me, I know it never really made much of a difference. And I’ve got a feeling that’s the same for Manny Pacquiao. The size really won’t make a difference in the ring.”

What will make a difference, according to Porter, is that Pacquiao went from facing a southpaw, Errol Spence Jr., to fighting an orthodox boxer on short notice. Ugas replaced Spence, who beat Porter by split decision in September 2019, on 11 days’ notice because the unbeaten IBF/WBC welterweight champion was forced to undergo surgery August 11 to repair his damaged right retina.

Ugas is 3-0 versus southpaws since he moved up to the welterweight division in 2016. Porter still thinks Pacquiao gained a bigger advantage by switching from a left-handed opponent to a right-hander.

“I heard Manny [on Wednesday], and I agree with him,” Porter said. “He said it was gonna be easier for [him] to fight Ugas because Ugas is a right-handed fighter. And I think that Manny going up against so many orthodox fighters, I think Manny really would’ve had to make some adjustments against a southpaw in Errol Spence Jr. So, even though Ugas is a last-minute replacement, there really isn’t anything too complex about Ugas. And especially with Ugas being a right-handed fighter, I think that really helped with the decision for them to take on this short notice fight against Ugas. They understand, ‘Hey, he’s an orthodox fighter. We’ve been here before. We’ve fought plenty of these guys.’

“On the other side of that, though, if you’re Yordenis Ugas, you haven’t had much focus or attention on Manny Pacquiao. You’ve got a southpaw now. You’ve got a fast guy now. With all of that, I think Ugas is the one that’s gonna have to make some really big adjustments on just a week-plus notice. So, I think this fight is more in Manny’s hands than it is in Ugas’ hands from an adjustment perspective.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.