SPORTS SHORTS 194: WHO IS YORDENIS UGAS? THE FIGHTER WHO LOSSES TO SHAWN PORTER IN A CONTROVERSIAL SPLIT DECISION (SECOND OF A SERIES)
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 13 Aug 2021
Yordenis Ugas fought Shawn Porter of Cleveland, Ohio for the WBC welterweight title on March 9, 2019 at the Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California. Porter retained his WBC welterweight title after receiving a split-decision victory over Ugas.
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Ugas also had a very powerful ending to the fight, and was even able to gash Porter's left eye in the tenth round. After the bell rang signaling the end, Ugas' seconds were in jubilation, as Porter stood calmly and stared at his cornermen.
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The scores were announced 116-112 and 115-113 for Porter and Ugas got 117-111. The crowd at the Dignity Health Sports Park booed loudly at the announcement of the scorecards as Ugas hurriedly went down the ring in revolt.
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Porter retained his WBC welterweight title by fighting from long-range for most of the contest leading 65-49 in jabs landed and 26%-22% jabs rate. Ugas connected well to the body with 57-34 in body punches and tied Porter with 79 power punches connected while leading in the power punches efficiency 35%-28%.
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Porter rallied from an early deficit and after six rounds, Porter already was ahead 68-67 in total punches landed. In rounds 7-12, Porter outlanded Ugas 76-61 overall and dominated in total punches connected in three of the final four rounds.
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At the end of the thrilling fight, Porter was ahead 144-128 in total blows landed per CompuBox and the round-by-round breakdown of total punches landed for the fight was 5-5-2.
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However, Porter was more active with 42.9 punches per round to Ugas' 37.4, which may have convinced two of the three judges to favor Porter at the fight's conclusion.
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Porter had a hard time making the weight limit and he struggled in his performance against the challenger Ugas. "I think we won the majority of the rounds. I would not have given Ugas very many," said Porter after the fight.
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Ugas, who was then fresh from eight straight wins, shook Porter and almost scored an upset. It gave signal to the welterweight division that the Cuban is a no nonsense fighter.
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In his next fight, Ugas dominated former WBC lightweight champion Omar Figueroa of Weslaco, Texas on July 20, 2019 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, winning by a unanimous decision.
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Ugas won every round as all the three judges scored the fight 119-107 for the Cuban, who had one point deduction for holding in the fifth round.
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In his next fight, Ugas fought Mike Dallas Jr. of Bakersfield, California on February 1, 2020 at the Beau Rivage Resort, Biloxi, Mississippi. Ugas confronted him well and was able to harm Dallas in several junctures of the fight. After the seventh round, Dallas' corner had seen enough torture and signaled the referee to stop the fight.
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On September 6, 2020, Ugas fought Abel Ramos born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania residing in Casa Grande, Arizona, for the vacant WBA (Regular) welterweight title at the Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California.
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Ugas outboxed Ramos, controlling most of the rounds all through the match. This made one judge to score 117-111 for Ramos, while the other two saw it for Ugas 115-113.
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After the fight Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook wrote: "The 34-year-old Ugas is a serious contender at welterweight, and frankly it’s time for him to once again fight one of the division’s 'big six.'"
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"Errol Spence Jr and Danny Garcia are busy with one another, of course, and Terence Crawford looks like he’ll be fighting Kell Brook, and Manny Pacquiao doesn’t look like he’ll be fighting again any time soon."
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"Keith Thurman may or may not be injured somehow at the moment. Ugas has already faced Shawn Porter and lost a controversial split decision."
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And now Yordenis Ugas will face Manny Pacquiao. The WBA (Super) welterweight champion was already scheduled to battle on the undercard of Pacquiao vs. Errol Spence Jr.
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Coincidentally, Ugas' original opponent, Fabian Maidana, the younger brother of former two-division world champion Marcos Maidana, was also injured with a bad cut incurred during a sparring session.
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"I still consider it a good fight, a hard fight. I will not be taking this fight lightly. I have to make sure that I’m not overconfident," Pacquiao told TMZ Sports.
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The Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard agreed on a new four-year contract, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Leonard's contract includes a player option for the final season and will pay him a total of $176.3 million, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
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Although Leonard will be returning to the Clippers, he will miss a big part of the 2021-22 season after undergoing surgery to repair a partially torn ACL in July. He sustained the injury during the Clippers' playoff games, but L.A. did not announce his ACL tear until the they lost the Western Conference Finals to the Suns.
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The Philippines had the most successful Olympic Games participation in the country's sports history, which leads to greater aspirations for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
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Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham Tolentino believes that the Philippines' sensational performance can lead to even bigger success at the 2022 Asian Games.
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"If our medalists can compete in the Asian Games, we will really prepare for it," said Tolentino. "We have several athletes who we can bank on in the Asian Games and in the Southeast Asian Games."
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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