By: Hans Themistode
Errol Spence Jr. knows he won’t be in the ring with a pushover come April 16th.
On the night, Spence Jr. will attempt to unify his WBC and IBF welterweight titles when he takes on WBA champion, Yordenis Ugas. The two will officially swap fists in front of Spence Jr.’s hometown crowd at the AT&t Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Despite facing a who’s who of fighters at 147 pounds, including Danny Garcia, Kell Brook, and Lamont Peterson – Spence Jr. has waltzed to the ring as the odds on favorite. With his showdown against Ugas slowly nearing, Spence Jr. once again finds himself in the favored position according to oddsmakers.
Ultimately, Spence Jr., who was last seen in the ring against Danny Garcia in December of 2020, doesn’t view the Cuban born Ugas as a walk in the park. Having won 12 of his 13 bouts, including a short notice win against Manny Pacquiao while being somewhat physically compromised, Spence Jr. is of the belief that the recent win streak of Ugas actually stretches to 13 straight.
During the first quarter of 2019, Ugas fought a back and forth contest against former two-time welterweight champion, Shawn Porter. Although Ugas was handed the split decision defeat, Spence Jr. views that setback as nothing more than a night of bad judging.
“He’s a tough competitor,” said Spence Jr. of Ugas during their press conference. “He’s a guy that comes to fight. I thought he won the Shawn Porter fight The Manny Pacquiao fight, he won that fight I think with a torn bicep or whatever injury that he had.”
Still, even with the enormous amount of praise Spence Jr. is hurling in the direction of his upcoming opponent, he’s backing himself to truncate Ugas’s world title reign. As Spence Jr. peels the curtain back and juxtaposes the overall skillset of his man, he’s left visibly impressed. With that said, even at the age of 31 and a decade of experience as a professional, Spence Jr. believes that his time in the spotlight hasn’t come to an end just yet.
“He’s a great warrior, great competitor but at the end of the day, I just feel like it’s my time.”