Arlington, TX- Welterweight king, Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr. made his grand return to the ring in spectacular fashion, taking WBA champion, Yordenis Ugas’ hardware by way of tenth round stoppage. This was Spence’s third straight fight that he headlined, in front of a reported 39,946 spectators at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium.
Cuba’s Ugas, (27-5, 12 KOs) came into the bout on a four-fight win streak; last of which he won the WBA title off Manny Pacquiao in August. That fight was originally supposed to feature Spence taking on Pacquiao, but Spence had to pull out of the bout due to a torn retina in his left eye. This was only Spence’s second fight since sustaining injuries in a 2019 car crash.
Back and Forth Battle
At first, the fight was a pitched battle as both men were looking to find one another’s timing and distance. Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) would start the fight by doubling up on his jab and Ugas would look to counter the body. Spence, known for working his opponent’s body, went downstairs a few times in the opening stanza. Ugas was content to fight off his back foot and allow the fight to come to him.
Things started to pick up in the third round as Spence began to press forward. Ugas would not cede his ground as he landed a one-two combination and his right hand seemed to rattle Spence a bit and stop him in his tracks. Spence started landing his hooks to the body in the fifth and appeared to hurt Ugas.
However, Ugas bit down and landed some good counters, especially to the body; causing Spence to back up a bit. The sixth round saw things start to turn in Ugas’ favor. He landed a straight right that knocked Spence’s mouthpiece out. Spence incorrectly thought referee, Laurence Cole stopped the fight to get the mouthpiece. But there was no halt in action, as Ugas landed a combo that hurt Spence and sent him into the ropes.
Then referee Cole stopped the fight to get the mouthpiece and continued the match. This seemed to invigorate Spence as he rallied back at the end of the round.
Spence Takes Control
The seventh round is when all the momentum swung Spence’s way as he landed a huge uppercut that hurt Ugas and forced him to retreat. Ugas tried to gather himself and landed a combination, to only have Spence land a combo of his own. The right eye of Ugas began to swell after that uppercut. In the eighth, Spence increased his inside fighting work rate hitting Ugas with various uppercuts and hooks to the body. Ugas’ eye saw an increase of swelling, which caused Cole to stop the fight to have the ringside physician look at it. The doctor deemed that Ugas should be able to continue.
Photo credit: Ryan Hafey/ Premier Boxing Champions
Spence continued the torrid pace in the ninth, backing up Ugas before hurting him again with a short right. Ugas sensing the fight was slipping away, dug in a good body shot before ending a round with a straight right.
In the tenth, Spence landed a right to the body and then a right to the head that hurt Ugas. Another big left uppercut landed squarely on Ugas’ right eye that sent him backing away. Cole stopped the fight again for the doctor to observe the eye, and the doctor concluded the fight should end, causing Cole to call the fight at 1:44 of the tenth round.
Mega Fight on the Horizon
After unifying the WBA with his WBC and IBF titles, Spence gave his thoughts on the fight with Ugas. Later in his interview with Jim Grey, he let the crowd and the rest of the world know his intentions: an undisputed showdown with WBO champion and fellow pound-for-pound stalwart, Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford.
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Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) wasted no time tweeting a response for Spence’s call out.
Hopefully the fight can be made since both men want it. Perhaps the fight will be scheduled for later this year.
