By: Hans Themistode
While Yordenis Ugas is widely respected by everyone in the boxing world, by and large, most believe that he’ll come up woefully short in his bid to become a unified champion.
In just a few short days, on April 16th, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Ugas will attempt to snag both the WBC and IBF welterweight titles of Errol Spence Jr. With the Cuban native putting the finishing touches on an arduous training camp, the current WBA trinket holder believes he’s in pristine shape.
But, despite his unwavering self-belief, both oddsmakers and fans are shrugging their shoulders. In Spence Jr., the Dallas product will have the public backing of his hometown crowd. In addition to the undying support, Spence Jr. has been perfect in the ring, racing out to a 27-0 record. Even with the newly turned 32-year-old having his out of the ring issues, including a horrific car wreck in 2019, and a detached retina in his right eye that required surgery in 2021, many believe that Ugas is in over his head.
Although countless dubious voices continue to give their unwanted opinion, Ugas isn’t paying them any attention. Instead, the Cuban star is placing his complete focus on dethroning the unified star.
“I’m a competitor,” said Ugas to a group of reporters recently. “My objective is to come here and win. I don’t plan to come here and accept a loss in any kind of way. I came here on a mission, and that’s to take all three belts.”
More than just his dogged demeanor and never say die attitude, Ugas believes his unprecedented recent run will lead him to victory on the night. With 12 wins in his last 13 trips to the ring, Ugas has seemingly come into his own.
Of course, in addition to picking up wins against notable fighters such as Jamal James, Ray Robinson, and Omar Figueroa Jr. – Ugas ushered Manny Pacquiao into retirement. The two officially clashed in August of 2021, following the withdrawal of Spence Jr. due to his previously mentioned eye injury.
A determined Ugas rendered a pro-Pacquiao crowd extraneous as he went on to hand the future first ballot Hall of Famer the final loss of his illustrious career.
With the 35-year-old slugger now on the verge of the biggest night of his career, Ugas smiled widely as he was bombarded with nonstop questions.
“I’m just happy. I’m happy to be fighting in front of 30 to 40,000 people. You’re going to see that excitement come Saturday night”