By: Sean Crose
Fox opened up the festivities for Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather-Conor MacGregor novelty fight by airing the undercard live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where the main event would be held later that evening. First up, while the arena was still basically empty (a strange thing with boxing preliminaries – they tend to play to empty arenas) was a super welterweight bout between 12-0 Juan Heraldez of Vegas and 13-0 Jose Miguel Borrego of Mexico. The fight was a complete contrast in styles, as Heraldez played defense while Borrego tried to walk his man down.
Photo Credit: USA Today
To be sure, Borrego was able to drop his man in the ninth, but he wasn’t able to finish Heraldez off. What’s more, too much time had passed. The ten rounder therefore went to the final bell and Heraldez was awarded a unanimous decision win. It was time for the gang at Fox to spend copious minutes making sure enough time was filled to make up a two hour broadcast. After that protracted break, though, 24-2 Thomas Dulorme stepped into the ring to face 19-3 Yordenis Ugas in a ten round welterweight affair.
Dulorme, a seasoned pro, started spitting out rapid fire shots in the first, but Ugas still proved able to walk his man down. Indeed, it was Ugas who looked to take the round with his cleaner punches. By the second round, it seemed clear that Ugas was the quicker on the draw of the two men. As the round went on, it looked as if Dulorme was starting to find his range. He was sent to the mat twice, though, before the bell to end the round. Dulorme seemed to do better in the third, but was still not appearing to do enough. For some reason, the man was unable to find his target.
He was able to land in the fourth, however. Seeming to find his stride, Dulorme may well have done enough to take the round. Then again, Ugas was still landing clean. Yet Dulorme continued to fight strong, trying desperately to control the tempo throughout the middle rounds. By the end of the sixth, Dulorme was employing strong body shots that may have been starting to take their toll. Ugas complained to the referee, but no action was taken. By the beginning of the seventh, however, Dulorme was finally deducted a point. No matter. A beautiful left hook took Ugas down by round’s end.
Things finally became a war of attrition, with both men digging in and fighting hard. It was a grueling affair, no doubt. “They have not let up,” Fox commentator, and boxing great Ray Leonard claimed during the ninth, and he was exactly right. Then, in the tenth and final round, referee Vic Dackulich took a second point away from Dulorme, a decision which may have sealed the fight in Ugas favor. Sure enough, Ugas was able to walk away with a UD win.