The fight between Welterweight world champions Errol
Spence and Yordenis Ugas on the surface was a unification of three of five
recognized world championships in the illustrious 147lb. Welterweight division.
Like most “Big” fights, it also had several storylines that accompanied the
bout. Such as what the condition on Errol Spence’s left eye would be after
suffering a detached retina. Could Yordenis Ugas, who was coming off a
career-defining victory over Manny Pacquiao in his first defense his world
championship, a victory which came as a result of replacing Spence on short
notice, further cement his claim as a world champion by going on to defeat
Spence as well. Would the winner of this fight be moved toward a showdown with
undefeated WBO Welterweight world champion Terence Crawford for what would be
an Undisputed world championship bout?
Such intriguing questions would in part be answered when
the two world champions met on April 16th at AT&T Stadium in
Dallas, TX to unify Spence’s WBC/IBF crown with the WBA world championship held
by Ugas. Although this bout had all the appearance of a tactical encounter
between two boxer/punchers, sometimes what appears on paper prior to a fight,
turns out to be just that on paper. What would instead happen would be a competitive
battle of wills.
For a time in the early rounds, the two fighters seemed
to match each other punch for punch with the sequence usually consisting of
Spence throwing first, often in combination and Ugas looking to land counter
punches. While Ugas was able to have success with this approach periodically,
gradually the story of the fight became the sheer volume of Errol Spence's
combinations, which kept Ugas consistently on the defensive and at times
appearing overwhelmed.
This did not stop Yordenis Ugas however, from continuing
to make a fight of it and in round six
he would produce arguably the highlight of the fight by knocking
Spence’s mouthpiece out with a right hand and taking advantage when a
distracted Spence, trying to get Referee Lawrence Cole's attention about his
mouthpiece having been knocked out of his mouth, would be knocked into the
ropes by a left hook, straight right hand combination by Ugas. Cole appeared to
make a questionable call at this point in the fight by momentarily halting the
action to have Spence’s mouthpiece rinsed and put back in.
The reason why this was questionable and some may go as
far as to call it controversial is because Spence was clearly stunned by this
combination and frankly, I feel it probably should have been ruled a knockdown
as the ropes appeared to prevent Spence from going down, which under the rules
of Boxing is justification for a knockdown being ruled. Furthermore, Cole's
decision to halt the action at that particular point allowed Spence valuable seconds
to recover and arguably take an opportunity from Ugas to turn the ebb and flow
of the fight in his favor.
With Spence back in control, the rhythm of the fight
continued in his favor and gradually the accumulation of punishment became
apparent as Ugas’ right eye would swell shut. Despite the combat increasingly
moving in one direction, Ugas nevertheless showed his mettle and continued to
fight on. Although no one can take anything away from the heart Yordenis Ugas
showed in this fight, the effects of the punishment simply could not be ignored
and the bout would be stopped in the tenth round.
Despite Ugas protesting the stoppage on advice of a ringside
physician, it was revealed in the days following the bout that Ugas had in fact
suffered a broken orbital bone in addition to his right eye being swollen shut.
As much as one can sympathize with a fighter in Yordenis Ugas’ position, the
stoppage of this fight was justified. Although it is hard not to have sympathy
for a fighter having lost his world title in a heartbreaking way in not being
allowed to continue, such decisions can prove to be crucial in not just a
fighter’s ability to continue on with their career, but also their long-term
health.
Yordenis Ugas has nothing to be ashamed of. He fought
like a true champion and he should hold his head high. He is still one of the
best fighters in the world and remains a player in the talent-deep Welterweight
division. For now, obviously he will need time to heal before he can decide on
where he will go with his career off of this loss.
As for Errol Spence, the obvious question coming out of
this fight is whether a fight can be made between him and undefeated WBO world
champion Terence Crawford for what would be the Undisputed Welterweight
championship of the world. Although Terence Crawford is as of this writing a
promotional free agent and would appear to be in an ideal position to make such
a fight happen, his current legal dispute with his former promoter Bob Arum of
Top Rank Inc., as well as Spence’s alignment with the Premier Boxing Champions
(PBC) group of promoters and manager Al Haymon, who will likely look to
negotiate terms that will be favorable for the PBC will likely play a factor in
how quickly a fight between Spence and Crawford can be made.
While there is certainly no shortage of possible
challengers for both world champions, the Boxing world can only hope that
Spence and Crawford each tell their respective representatives to make the
fight happen and avoid grandstanding and other interests. Promoters and
managers after all are supposed to first and foremost look out for the best
interests of the fighters they represent rather than their other interests.
“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”
The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau
Denison All Rights Reserved.
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