Errol Spence Jr and Yordenis Ugas put their welterweight belts on the line in Texas
(Picture: Getty Images)Errol Spence Jr clashes with Yordenis Ugas in an eagerly-awaited welterweight unification showdown in Texas on Saturday night.
The 32-year-old had signed to fight Manny Pacquiao last August, but suffered an injury to his left eye during sparring and had to pull out of the fight less than two weeks before it was scheduled to take place.
Ugas stepped in at short notice to fight Pacquiao in Las Vegas and he controlled the bout on the whole, as a unanimous points decision went his way.
He’ll be putting his WBA super title on the line again this weekend against Spence, who holds the IBF and WBC belts.
Since beating Shawn Porter in September 2019 in what was a thrilling fight, Spence has fought just once as his career has stumbled in recent years. A month after beating Porter, he was involved in a serious car accident, which saw him subsequently charged with drink driving. The injury sustained to his eye last year is the latest setback he has suffered outside of the ring.
A potential undisputed clash with Terence Crawford is on offer for the winner on Saturday night, and Spence insists he is ready for any tactics Ugas brings to the ring.
He said: “Ugas is a tough fighter. You saw when he fought Shawn [Porter] he was waving for Shawn to come in and he was getting pumped up.
“So if I get the same Ugas that wants to trade and fight, it could be an early knockout.
“If you can outpoint me and beat me, I’m going to make it a dog fight and we’re going to go to war.”
Spence Jr vs Ugas date, start time, venue and ring walks
Spence Jr vs Ugas takes place on Saturday April 16, 2022 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas - home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
The main televised undercard is due to begin at 12am BST, with ring walks for the main event expected at around 4am.
As ever, those times are subject to change, depending on the length of the undercard bouts.
Spence Jr vs Ugas fight card/undercard in full
Errol Spence Jr vs Yordenis Ugas
Isaac Cruz vs Yuriorkis Gamboa
Jose Valenzuela vs Francisco Vargas
Cody Crowley vs Josesito Lopez
Radzhab Butaev vs Eimantas Stanionis
Brandun Lee vs Zachary Ochoa
Vito Mielnicki Jr vs Dan Karpency
Efetobor Apochi vs Adrian Taylor
Fernando Garcia vs Angel Barrientes
Darius Fulghum vs Nosa Divine Nehikhare
Samuel Arnold vs Darryl Jones
How to watch Spence Jr vs Ugas
TV channel: Saturday’s event is being broadcast live in the US on Showtime PPV, costing $74.99 for fans wanting to watch.
Live stream: FITE TV will broadcast the card in the UK, costing $14.99. Coverage on the service begins at 2am BST, meaning it’s likely only the final three fights on the undercard and then the main event will be shown.
Spence Jr vs Ugas fight prediction
The unbeaten Spence has come through every challenge he’s faced in his professional career so far, but inactivity must be a concern after another long spell out of the ring.
It’s now more than 16 months since he beat Danny Garcia on points, a fight which came more than 14 months after Spence got the better of Porter. There is also the issue of his eye injury - although Spence and his team will be hopeful the problem is behind them, this will be the first fight since he underwent surgery.
However, despite those concerns, this is a real step up for Ugas. The Cuban was impressive against Pacquaio but the 43-year-old then retired after that fight, and Ugas has four defeats on his record.
It’s likely to be a competitive fight and potentially a long evening for the pair. All of Spence’s last three bouts have gone the distance, while Ugas has not seen the final bell just once in his last six fights.
Spence has the edge in terms of class and experience against the very best in the division, and he should have enough to secure a relatively comfortable points decision which would hopefully set up a mega-fight against Crawford later in the year.
Spence to win on points.
Spence Jr vs Ugas weigh-in results
Spence Jr and Ugas hit the scales on Friday, weighing in at 146¼ lbs and 146¾ lbs respectively - both inside the welterweight limit of 147lbs.
Spence Jr vs Ugas betting odds
Spence Jr win: 1/7
Ugas win: 4/1
Draw: 20/1
Spence Jr by decision/technical decision: 4/6
Spence Jr by KO, TKO or DQ: 12/5
Ugas by decision/technical decision: 7/1
Ugas by KO, TKO or DQ: 11/1
