By Huck Allen
February 8, 2022
Source: Boxing News 24
Photo Source: Ryan Hafey, Premiere Boxing Champions
Errol Spence Jr. will be dragging himself back to the war front against Yordenis Ugas in a unification fight in a 50-50 affair on April 16th at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The two will meet in the main event on Premier Boxing Champions PPV. Ugas, 35, will be the visiting fighter in taking on Texan Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) in front of his fans in Arlington. There are a lot of boxing fans writing off Ugas, but he’s got a genuine chance of winning this fight.
One of the top talents on the Cuban national team, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Ugas, could score a knockout of Spence.
We don’t know if Spence’s surgically repaired right eye will hold up to the wear & tear from the punishment that Ugas will be dishing out in this fight. It might not be a problem if there’s a clear result, such as a knockout, but if it’s a close fight, you’ve got to assume that Spence will be the one that has his hand raised by the referee. IBF/WBC welterweight champion Spence and WBA Super World 147-lb champion Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) share a familiar opponent in Shawn Porter.
While Spence defeated Porter by a 12 round split decision in September 2019, Ugas lost to Shawn by a 12 round split decision in March of the same year.
Interestingly, Ugas took less punishment and performed better against Porter than Spence but lost. You can draw your conclusion why Ugas lost that fight. There’s no word yet for the pay-per-view price for the event, but it’s likely $74.95, which is the same price as last Saturday’s comeback bout from Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman vs. Mario Barrios. Last August, Spence suffered an eye injury during a sparring session for his canceled fight against Manny Pacquiao. The damage is now 100% healed after surgery, and Spence is ready to get back in there with Ugas.
Tickets for the Spence-Ugas fight go on Saturday on Friday, February 11th, at SeatGeek.com.
Errol, 31, didn’t look great in his last fight, beating Danny Garcia by a 12 round unanimous decision in December 2020 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Spence was returning from his horrific car crash on October 10, 2019, so it was predictable that he wasn’t in top form. He was thrown from his Ferrari 488 Spider. Luckily for Spence, he didn’t suffer any broken bones in the crash. Just lacerations on his face and busted teeth. This is the second consecutive fight for Spence in which he’s coming back from injuries, and we don’t know how he’s going to perform. Last time, Spence fought well after his car accident, but he may not find the same success.
Ugas is coming off a career-best victory over superstar Manny Pacquiao last August in a fight that initially was supposed to be Spence’s. Spence’s injury resulted in him being pulled from the battle and replaced by Ugas. In hindsight, Pacquiao would have pulled out of the card once Spence was injured because he did have enough time to get ready for Ugas. Ugas is on a big-time roll with his victory over Pacquiao and wins over Abel Ramos, Omar Figueroa Jr., and Mike Dallas since his controversial 12 round split decision loss to Shawn Porter in March 20019. It’s going to be important for Ugas not to say in the pocket for too long on April 16th because Spence is a vicious body puncher, and he’ll wear him down.
Some would argue that Ugas is tailormade for Spence when he’s stationary, slugging it out with his opponents. Ugas’ Cuban coach will make sure that he changes his fighting style to ensure that he’s not fighting Spence’s game.
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