WBC Welterweight world champion Shawn Porter retained his title with a 12-round split decision win over Yordenis Ugas Saturday, March 9, 2019 at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Porter won via scores of 116-112 and 115-113, while the third judge had it 117-111 for Ugas who looked like he did enough to win but came up short.
“We wanted to out box him and eventually turn it on and press him,” said Porter. “But my dad did not think that was the smartest way to win the fight. We fought this way for 12 rounds and no one has ever seen that from me before.”
While Porter was the champion coming in, Ugas as the challenger had to impose himself on the champ. Most rounds could have gone either way. Ugas applied pressure throughout the fight, but needed a knockdown in the judges’ eyes.
“There’s no doubt about it, I was robbed tonight,” said Ugas. “After the first round I figured him out and dominated the fight. He had no answer when I was pushing him back. I dominated the fight in my opinion.”
The fight was close in the early rounds with both fighters having their moments. Porter was landing head shots while Ugas was attacking the body.
Porter resorted to defensive tactics, jumping in-and-out of the action and making Ugas miss at times, but he was out boxing Porter and landing solid counters.
“I showed tonight that I belong with the elite fighters at welterweight,” said Ugas. “All I can say is that I’m ready to fight any of the top names in the division. I’ll be back.”
This was the first title defense for Porter since beating Danny Garcia for the belt last September. Ugas had won eight straight before tonight’s loss.
“The crowd was expecting a big brawl, but that’s not the way this fight needed to go tonight,” said Porter. “That style that we used left the fight close. We got the win, we’re still champion and we’re looking forward to what is next.”
It seemed like Yordenis Ugas had the opportunity to do so much more against a hesitant Shawn Porter. He was more content with showboating.
Porter wins by SD with scores of 116-112 (Porter), 117-111 (Ugas) and 115-113 (Porter). pic.twitter.com/BhTYWWqv8t
