“Thank God for great health and protection, but today, I choose violence and destruction,” said the unified Welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs ) when he posted to social media early on fight day.
Spence made his long-awaited return to the ring to take on WBA champion Yordenis Ugas (27-5,12 KOs) in a unification bout that would see either fighter just one belt away from being undisputed in the division.
Yordenis Ugas was last seen outboxing Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao to secure his piece of the Welterweight division and set up his fight with Spence. In the lead in to the fight, the Dallas native maintained a confident swagger and even promised to seek a knockout in the fight for his hometown crowd.
The opening round was as close as possible, with both fighters looking to establish a jab. Ugas put a focus on his jab to the body early on. The third round showed Spence try and display his power on the Cuban, but there was no retreat in Ugas, who finished the round with some clean shots to the head of Spence.
Spence had begun to secure rounds and gain a lead on the scorecards at the midway point of the fight. Ugas would land a shot that sent Spence’s mouthpiece flying out of his mouth and followed it up with a combination that stunned Spence. Spence recovered and even finished the round strong with his own combinations.
Spence followed up in the seventh with another strong round and had Ugas back-peddling from the power punches. At this point, Ugas’ right eye had begun to swell profusely, and the ringside doctor was keeping a close eye on him. The action continued with both fighters giving the crowd their money’s worth and fighting in a phonebooth style.
Spence continued to punish Ugas’ right eye, and in the 10th, the ringside physician called a halt to the action due to how bad the swelling had gotten for the Cuban, despite his pleas to carry on and finish the fight.
“It meant a lot fighting in my hometown, fighting in front of my friends and family,” said Spence after the fight. While some questioned if Spence would look the same after a long layoff, the Texan had all the confidence in the world in his abilities.
“I had no doubts at all. I believe in myself 100 percent. I didn’t want a tune-up fight; I always want to be in there with the best guys.”
When asked what would be next, the 39,946 people in attendance at AT&T Stadium knew the response.
“Everybody knows who I want next,” said Spence. “I want Terence Crawford. I’m coming for that motherfucking belt.”
Yordenis Ugas held his head high, despite being saddened by the stoppage.
“I’m disappointed,” said Ugas. “I trained very hard for this fight but all credit to Spence, who fought a great fight. I couldn’t see very well from my eye, but I wanted to keep going until the end.”
Boxing fans can only hope that nothing comes in between the Spence and Crawford fight from coming to fruition, as it remains one of the most anticipated showdowns that can be made in the sport today.
