Errol Spence Jr. defeats Yordenis Ugas to be crowned three-time welterweight champion

Prior to the fight, Spence held the World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) belts; while Ugas held the World Boxing Association (WBA) belt since defeating Manny Pacquiao in August 2021. (Collage: ESPN KnockOut-Twitter)

American boxer Errol Jr. Spence defeated Cuban Yordenis Ugás and was crowned triple welterweight champion after an eventful fight on Saturday.

The fighters met at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; to dispute the unification of the welterweight title.

Prior to the fight, Spence held the World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) belts; while Ugas held the World Boxing Association (WBA) belt since defeating Manny Pacquiao in August 2021.

A cautious start

Spence entered the arena confident, and walked to the ring with the support of the home crowd of the Lone Star State.

For his part, Ugas arrived with the Cuban flag in the background, proudly carrying the motto «Patria y Vida» (Homeland and Life), which was also featured on his team’s uniforms.

.@YordenisUgas ready to rock ?? #SpenceUgas main event up next on https://t.co/hm8UTDacri! pic.twitter.com/JfHaYMAZct

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) April 17, 2022

When the bell rang for the start of the first round, Spence began to work the jabs, while Ugas walked around the ring to avoid being connected so early.

This round closed with a strong punch from the Cuban, who at that moment held the advantage by dedicating himself to hard punches, rather than tiring out his opponent, reported Marca.

Fate sealed

During the second and third rounds, both fighters were slow on the offensive, although Spence managed to land a strong right hand on Ugas, from which he recovered, but not without staggering.

This blow would be the Cuban’s sentence later on, due to the consequences it would bring on that side of his face.
By the fourth round, the Cuban fighter was already showing damage to his right eye, and Spence continued with jabs, looking for the key to victory.

During this and the next round, the strategy of both fighters was already evident: Spence was looking to cause damage little by little, while Ugas bet everything on a single withering blow, which he could not connect even then, nor later.

A brief controversy

In the sixth round, the American found himself in trouble, whipped against the ropes, and taking punch after punch from Ugas.

The American threw his mouth guard, thus getting a short break from the referee, which caused controversy in the arena.

The complaints of the audience were heard throughout the stadium, as they considered that the boxer was only looking for a moment to recover from the Cuban’s flurry, which in the end he did.

Accountability

The damage to Ugas’ eye was already noticeable in the seventh round, and his opponent focused on looking for the knockout from there on, «shooting» non-stop towards the injured side of the Cuban’s face.

During the eighth round, the referee even stopped the fight, to check Ugas’ eye, but after examining it, he let him continue fighting.

In the ninth round, the Cuban’s eye was almost closed, and Spence’s dominance was notorious, as the Cuban could no longer defend himself well, let alone land punches.

Finally, by the tenth round, the doctor decided to stop the fight due to Ugas’ condition, which gave the victory to Spence, who now holds the WBC, IBF and WBA titles.

R10: La parte médica dice que ya termina la pelea por la condición de Ugás.

? EN VIVO ? por #ESPNKnockOut para toda Latinoamérica

? @StarPlusLA #spenceugas pic.twitter.com/qfyayMfdct

— ESPN KnockOut (@ESPNKnockOut) April 17, 2022

Errol Spence Jr. became the three-time welterweight champion, and with that, he is now in line to face the World Boxing Organization (WBO) champion, Terence Crawford.

In an interview at the end of the fight, the American noted that he was indeed excited about fight with Crawford.

«That’s the fight I want, the one everybody wants,» he declared.

The damage to Ugas’ face looked severe, and although there was speculation that he might even have a fractured cheekbone, the severity of his injury has not been confirmed at this time.

¡TRIPLE CAMPEÓN WÉLTER! ?

? WBC
? IBF
? WBA

ERROL SPENCE JR. ACABÓ EN 10 ASALTOS A UGÁS ?

¿SE VIENE PELEA CONTRA TERENCE CRAWFORD? ?

? @StarPlusLA #spenceugas pic.twitter.com/XENjgvhGQA

— ESPN KnockOut (@ESPNKnockOut) April 17, 2022