By: Hans Themistode
At one point, Yordenis Ugas could only dream of the current position he finds himself in.
With a world title wrapped around his Cuban waist, Ugas has come a long way from the fighter who suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of Emanuel Robles and Amir Imam in 2014.
Having stuffed the win column in 12 of his past 13 fights, Ugas is just a few short weeks away from the most significant fight of his career. On April 16th, in front of a jam-packed crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Ugas will take on unified champion, Errol Spence Jr. Should Ugas prove oddsmakers wrong by snagging the victory, he’ll be the proud owner of three of the four major world titles at 147 pounds.
While Ugas is placing all of his time and efforts into his upcoming showdown against Spence Jr., Josh Taylor, the current undisputed champion at 140-pounds, has caught his eye.
Following his highly controversial win over Jack Catterall in his most recent trip to the ring, Taylor revealed that his time as a 140 pounder is officially over. Although it’s unclear when Taylor plans on making his welterweight debut, Ugas has anxiously raised his hand if Taylor is in need of an opponent.
Regardless of how his upcoming showdown against Spence Jr. plays out, Ugas believes that a matchup against Taylor is one that simply has to happen.
“That fight has to happen between me and Taylor, 200 percent,” said Ugas to Behind The Gloves. “I want that fight, Taylor we want you.”
Normally soft-spoken and reserved, Ugas becomes loquacious when discussing his desire to face Taylor in the near future. But, despite the sudden change in his demeanor, Ugas quickly turns his attention back to the monumental task that is standing before him.
In Spence Jr., Ugas will face an undefeated unified champion, that has dominated in the ring. Although the Dallas native has been inactive as of late, spending the past several months recovering from eye surgery to repair a detached retina, Spence Jr. appears to be in prime physical shape.
Considering what his fellow champion brings to the table and despite his undeniable desire to face Taylor, Ugas admits that Spence Jr. has been at the forefront of his mind for a longtime.
“My training camp has been all about getting ready for the best version of Errol Spence. That’s all I’m thinking about.”