By: Hans Themistode
The fight was practically his, and then it wasn’t.
For Yordenis Ugas, he believed that a showdown against unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. was next up on his fight calendar. In September of 2020, the Cuban native reeled off his third win in a row as he defeated Abel Ramos via split decision. The win for Ugas produced a special moment for him as he was officially crowned the WBA “Regular” champion.
With Manny Pacquiao still in possession of the WBA “Super” title, the 42-year-old boxing legend was made “Champion in Recess” as he remained on the sidelines for close to two years. That in turn pushed Ugas to super champion status.
Now, however, with Pacquiao announcing to the boxing world that he’ll be the one to face Spence Jr. on August 21st, in Las Vegas Nevada, Ugas was reportedly taken aback by the news. But while he wasn’t pleased with being pushed to the side, Ugas can take solace in knowing that he’ll make his return to the ring on the same card.
“I was the one who was going to fight Errol Spence,” said Ugas to a group of reporters. “Now, all of a sudden, Manny Pacquiao has decided to come out of retirement. Now they’re going to fight but supposedly I’m going to be the co-main event on that show on August 21st but I don’t know against who.”
In addition to Ugas no longer getting a showdown against Spence Jr., at least at the moment, the 34-year-old is on the verge of losing his world title. Although Ugas has done nothing wrong, President of the WBA in Gilberto Mendoza, is currently leaning towards re-establishing Pacquiao as full belt holder ahead of his fight against Spence Jr.
“We’re working on it,” said Mendoza during an interview with ThaBoxingVoice regarding Pacquiao getting reinstated as champion. “There’s a high probability. It has to be run through a championship committee and voted before taken to the President.”
Under normal circumstances, when a champion is placed as “Champion in Recess” said fighter is given the immediate opportunity to win his world title back against the current champion which would be Ugas. Regardless of those rules, however, it appears as though Ugas could be on his way to losing his world title before even defending it.
While the state of affairs would leave most apoplectic, Ugas couldn’t care less what happens. In his opinion, he would rather focus on what he can control.
“The WBA do what they want to do. I’m not frustrated, I’m continuing to train and fight but I am the co-main event on that show.”
