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MASAM SPORTS 34: ERROL SPENCE JR. VS. YORDENIS UGAS UNIFICATION IS SET ON APRIL 16 IN ARLINGTON, TEXAS By Maloney L. Samaco PhilBoxing.com Thu, 10 Feb 2022  The welterweight division will remain as boxing's most interesting and most popular division, as Errol Spence Jr. and Yordenis Ugas are now scheduled for a unification fight on April 16 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Spence will stake his WBC and IBF welterweight titles against Ugas who will risk his WBA welterweight championship belt. According to the FanDuel Sportsbook, early odds indicate that Errol Spence Jr. is the -350 favorite, with Yordenis Ugas is the +270 underdog. The match would enthrone a three-belt unified welterweight champion and he will have to fight Terence Crawford to get his WBO title for him to become the undisputed welterweight champion of the world. Crawford is presently the No. 1 rated contender in the welterweight division by The Ring. Spence is rated No. 2 by The Ring and Ugas is the No. 3 contender with the champion remaining vacant. If Crawford faces the winner of the Spence-Ugas unification bout, the conqueror could become the undisputed and The Ring champion of the 147-pound division. Ugas (24-7, 12 KOs) became WBA Super champion taking over the title from Manny Pacquiao on 11 days' notice and scored the upset win over the former eight-division world champion by unanimous decision in a convincing performance on August 21, 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, USA. Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) won the IBF crown by knocking out Kell Brook in the 11th round on May 27, 2017 at Bramall Lane, Sheffield, England. He added the WBC belt by a split decision win over Shawn Porter on September 28, 2019 at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, USA. "The fight is in April. Man down, strap season. He already knows what time it is,” Spence said on Instagram. Ugas is grateful to the WBA for allowing him to fight the three-belt unification. "Thanks to the WBA for doing the right thing. It is an award for my dedication, and for being a brave man in and out of the ring. I will be fighting one of the best [pound-for-pound]. I'm a warrior. First Cuban fighting for three belts one night," he was quoted by Skysports. The match will be Spence's third fight at the home arena of the Dallas Cowboys, which is very proximate to his hometown DeSoto, Texas. He defeated Mikey Garcia by UD12 on March 16, 2019 and Danny Garcia by UD12 on December 5, 2020 at the AT&T Stadium. The deal was being consummated as early as December, as reported by ESPN, but the unification was not officially announced after two months because Premier Boxing Champions officials would want to finalize the date and venue. Spence will be engaging in his second comeback fight after suffering from serious injury due to a single-car accident in October 10, 2019, in his hometown of Dallas, Texas and that mishap brought him to the hospital and injured him for months. The proposed August 21, 2021 fight with Manny Pacquiao was thwarted after he suffered a detached retina and endured a surgery. Ugas and Spence have one common opponent in Shawn Porter. Spence defeated Porter in a savage fight winning via split decision. Ugas lost a controversial split-decision to Porter on March 9, 2019 at the States Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California, USA. Eimantas Stanionis of Lithuania could interrupt the undisputed unification because he gave way from his mandatory title fight against Ugas to allow him to fight Spence provided the winner will face him next. Stanionis will fight Radzhab Butaev on the undercard. Errol Spence Jr. as an amateur won three consecutive United States national championships and represented the U.S. at the 2012 Olympics, where he reached the quarter-finals. Nicknamed "The Truth", he stands 5 ft 10 in and a 72 inch reach. The southpaw, aged 31 years, is from Long Island, New York, USA. Yordenis Ugás previously held the WBA (Regular) title from 2020 and was elevated to Super champion. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 2005 World Championships in Mianyang, China and bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, both in the lightweight division. Nicknamed "54 Milagros", he stands 5 ft 9 in with a raeach of 69 inches. The 35-year-old orthodox fighter was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.  |
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