IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. wore down the aging WBA champion Yordenis Ugas and halted him in the tenth round on Saturday night at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Spence hurt the bloody & battered Ugas several times in the 10th, resulting in referee Lawrence Cole stopping the action to have Yordenis examined by the ringside doctor. The fight was then stopped.
Ugas had his moments, hurting Spence in the sixth, but that was the Cuban fighter’s last stand. Spence came back to dominate rounds seven, eight, nine, and ten. Each round became progressively more one-sided, thanks to Spence’s body attack.
WBA Welterweight World Champion Yordenis Ugás showed off his skills at a media workout in Las Vegas as he nears his 147-pound title unification clash against WBC and IBF champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. taking place Saturday, April 16 live on SHOWTIME PPV in a Premier Boxing Champions event from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Undercard action:
Lightweight Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (23-2-1, 16 KOs) bounced back nicely from his recent loss to Gervonta Davis to defeat Yuriorkis Gamboa (30-5, 18 KOs) by a fifth-round knockout in the chief support bout.
Cruz had the 40-year-old Gamboa hurt in every round of the fight, and finally, put him out of his misery with a knockout in the fifth. Gamboa was knocked down in the second, third and fourth. The time of the stoppage was at 1:32 of the fifth.
Lightweight Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela (12-0, 8 KOs) crushed former WBC 130-lb champion Francisco ‘Bandito’ Vargas (27-4-2, 19 KOs) by a first-round knockout. The fight was halted 85 seconds into the contest after Valenzuela dropped the 37-year-old Vargas with a scorching left hook to the head.
Welterweight Cody Crowley (21-0, 9 KOs) pounded out an easy 10-round unanimous decision over Josesito ‘Riverside Rocky’ Lopez (38-9, 21 KOs). The judges scored it 99-90, 98-91, and 98-91. Boxing 247 scored it 99-90 for Crowley.
Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) put in a strong performance to defeat WBA secondary welterweight champion Radzhab Butaev (14-1, 11 KOs) by a 12-round split decision. Stanionis attacked Butaev relentlessly, hammering him with big shots throughout the 12-round fight to get the win.
The scores were 116-111, 117-110 for Stanionis, and 114-113 for Butaev.
Just the 12th unification fight in the rich history of the welterweight division, Spence vs. Ugás will join other classic unification matchups at the weight class such as “Sugar” Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns I, and Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. Ugás earned this opportunity in his most recent fight, successfully defending his title against future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao in August 2021.
Tickets for the April 16 live event at AT&T Stadium, which is promoted by TGB Promotions and Man Down Promotions, are on sale now and can be purchased at SeatGeek.com, the Official Ticketing Provider of AT&T Stadium.
Ugás hosted media at the Salas Boxing Academy along with his trainer Ismael Salas, in an event that was live-streamed on the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube Channel and that can be watched in its entirety HERE.
Here is what Ugás and Salas had to say:
YORDENIS UGÁS
“I’m very thankful for everyone who has supported me. I’m extremely ready for this fight and to give the fans a great show on April 16. This has been a fantastic training camp and I can’t wait.
“I’m happy to be fighting in Spence’s backyard because they have great fans down there in Texas. It just adds extra motivation.
“We’ve had a great training camp here in Las Vegas with Ismael Salas. We always make sure that the hard work pays off. We’re going to be bringing our best into the ring.
“I was out of the ring for a long time, but when I came back and gave Jamal James the first loss of his career, I knew that I would be coming for big things. Everything changed for me that night and it’s all led up to this.
“The Pacquiao fight was a great night for me. After that fight, my life changed in even more ways. But I’ve always kept myself humble. I showed everyone who the WBA champion was. I have my eye on continuing to make history.
“Being an underdog means nothing to me. I was the underdog against Pacquiao and now again against Spence. I’ve always been the underdog and it doesn’t faze me.
“It’s an honor to be in the ring with Errol Spence Jr. We’re fighting for three belts, but even more important is fighting for honor and respect.
“Fans can expect me to fight like a warrior. I’m going to take all of my hard work into the ring on April 16.”
ISMAEL SALAS, Ugás’ Trainer
“I watched Errol Spence fight Shawn Porter and then I watched Errol Spence fight Danny Garcia, after Spence had his accident. It was not the same Errol Spence Jr. I do believe he lost something between the Porter and Garcia fights.
“Training camp has been great. We’ve had a long camp and now we’re in the period where Ugás is starting to make the adjustments that he’ll need to be ready for what Spence brings.
“I want to face the best Errol Spence Jr. because I want the fans to get a great show. This is one of the biggest fights of the year. If he’s in top condition, then Ugás is going to be ready to give him a hell of a fight.
“Yordenis came to us with three losses and since then we’ve been beating undefeated guys and going step by step up to this point of facing top fighters. Manny Pacquiao was the biggest fight of his career and Ugás beat him clearly. That was the same Pacquiao who had beat Keith Thurman in his previous fight.
“We need to absorb the punching power of Spence. Everyone knows he’s a front-footed fighter who throws bombs from start to finish. It’s no secret that we need to use Spence’s aggressiveness and make it work in our favor.
“It’s been a process for Ugás to get back to this point. He had to regain his confidence when he first joined our gym. We had to make a transition from the Cuban style and make him more aggressive. Yordenis Ugás is a master of the middle distance. He knows how to make you miss and make you pay.”
