Tim Bradley believes he knows how Yordenis Ugas can beat Errol Spence Jr. next month in their fight on April 16th.
Bradley feels that Shawn Porter already created the blueprint on how to defeat Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) when the two battled it out in 2019, and Errol wound up winning a controversial 12 round split decision.
As Bradley points out, Porter got in Spence’s grill, and stayed on top of him, forcing him to fight on the inside for the full 12 rounds in their fight.
Unfortunately. WBA welterweight champion Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) lacks an inside game whatsoever to trouble Spence, and he’s a little long in the tooth at 35-years-old to be learning how to brawl in close during his eight-week camp.
Spence says that he purposefully fought Porter on the inside because he wanted to prove that he could beat him at his own game, which is what he ultimately did.
Spence landed a lot of heavy body shots against Porter, wore him down, and dropped him in the eleventh round to seal the victory.
Bradley explains the secret to beating Spence
“Who gave Spence a run for his money? Shawn Porter, a guy that was in his grill, a guy that was in his mug,” said Tim Bradley to Fighthype. “I think that if Ugas is going to have a chance, he needs to get in his grill.
“Put them, high guards, up, walk him down, be in his grill, let him punch, and punch off the punches and try to punch him in between the shots,” said Bradley on what Ugas needs to do against Spence.
“Back him up, he’s going to have to put pressure on him, and I see Ugas winning the fight possibly that way. I don’t know if we ever saw,” said Bradley.
It sounds good what Bradley is recommending that Ugas do against Spence, but he’s kind of old to change his fighting style overnight.
Moreover, if Spence chooses not to oblige Ugas in an inside war, then he’s going to have to fight him on the outside whether he wants to or not.
If Spence does choose to fight Ugas in close, he’s going to wear him down with his body shots and uppercuts. Porter took a beating from Spence, and he wasn’t the same fighter after that fight.
Porter looked shot in his two fights after his fight with Spence in going up against German fringe contender Sebastian Formella and Terence Crawford.
“Well, I can say we’ve seen Spence box off the back foot, control the distance from the outside with his jab, set up shots from the outside and use good footwork and things like that,” said Bradley.
“It just depends on how these guys come out, to be honest with you. I know Spence can change things up if he needs to, I know he can.
“I don’t know if Ugas can, I’m not sure. I know he’s a good boxer with the Cuban style. He does have the ability, but just like with Pac. He likes to stand in there in front,” said Bradley.
Errol to beat Ugas
“Pac throws a ton of punches, but Spence’s punches are better placed than Pac’s. It’s a tough fight, but I think Spence gets him. I think it’s Spences time,” said Bradley in predicting a win for Errol against Ugas.
“I don’t know if I got him by stoppage. Spence hasn’t knocked nobody out for a long time. I don’t want him to go up to 147. I want him to stay at 147,” said Bradley about wanting Spence to stay at welterweight so that Terence Crawford can fight him.
“To be honest with you, the longer you stay out of the ring and the age creeps up on you, it just seems like your bones get a little bit more dense and you gain weight.
“It’s inevitable, especially when you’re enjoying the fruits of your hard labor and you’re relaxing. I mean, look at me. I’m enjoying my life, I’ve got the belly now.
“That happens to a fighter, especially when it gets late in their career and they get a lot of that money. They get relaxed. You’re only fighting once or twice a year.
“Spence hasn’t been that active so that weight can get packed on and it’s tough to get off,” said Bradley.
Ugas doesn’t have the outside or inside game to beat Spence, and we’re going to likely see him get worn down and possibly stopped.
Bradley picks Crawford over Spence
“He probably could go up to 154, but stay at 147 for as long as you can because I want that fight with Crawford,” said Bradley. “I think that’s the biggest fight in boxing right now. It’s Crawford-Spence, that would definitely sell over one million pay-per-views, no doubt.
“When you step up in class and you start facing guys that are really technically sound and guys that have a lot of experience, it’s tougher to get those guys up out of there. Guys like Mikey Garcia, he’s really tough to get out of there.
“Danny Garcia is another guy that is tough to get out of there. These are guys that have never been stopped. As you start fighting the cream of the crop, it’s really hard to take these guys out.
“Nobody ever stopped Spence. So it’s really hard to take these guys out. I think that’s the separation that we see, in my opinion. I know it’s different fights with Crawford.
“Shawn Porter doesn’t get stopped, bro. I don’t care how you look at it. That’s what makes Crawford different. That fight alone makes Crawford different from everyone at 147.
“Nobody stopped Shawn Porter; nobody. Not Kell Brook, not Spence, nobody but Crawford. So that’s the reason why I give Crawford the edge going into the Spence fight,” said Bradley.
The way that Bradley goes to bat for Crawford, he sounds like a cheerleader, but he fails to admit that Terence hasn’t fought anyone good since moving up to 147.
Spence, even after his car accident, would destroy everyone that Crawford has fought since he moved up to welterweight in 2018. Top Rank has matched Crawford against lesser guys that would lose to most of the top five contenders.
Crawford’s opposition at 147:
- Amir Khan
- Jose Benavidez Jr
- Kell Brook
- Jeff Horn
- Shawn Porter – past it
- Egidijus Kavaliauskas