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SPORTS SHORTS 278: ERROL SPENCE VS. YORDENIS UGAS UNIFICATION FOR NEXT YEAR UNDER NEGOTIATIONS

By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 28 Dec 2021



Errol Spence is reported to be in negotiations for a three-belt welterweight unification fight against Yordenis Ugas to happen possibly in the spring of 2022. Spence, the WBC and IBF welterweight champion will most probably be facing the WBA welterweight champion Ugas who defeated and put Manny Pacquiao to retirement.

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Spence won his first world title when he floored and consequently stopped Kell Brook to grab the IBF title after 11 rounds on May 27, 2017 at the Bramall Lane, Sheffield, England in Brook's hometown.

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Spence battled two-time welterweight world champion Shawn Porter on September 28, 2019 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California to unify his IBF and Porter's WBC welterweight titles. Spence knocked Porter down in the eleventh round en route to a split decision victory, with the scores of 116–111, 116–111, 112–115.

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Just two weeks after the Porter fight, Spence met an accident in a high-speed car crash. He was fortunate to survive while ejected from his Ferrari because he was not wearing a seatbelt.

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In his first fight since encountering a car crash in October 2019, Spence clashed with former two-weight world champion Danny Garcia on December 5, 2020 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas for Spence's IBF and WBC welterweight titles. He won by a unanimous decision with scores of 116-112, 116-112 and 117-111.

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Spence was challenged by four-weight and multiple world titlist Mikey Garcia for the IBF welterweight title and Spence won by unanimous decision on March 16, 2019 at the AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas. It was Garcia's first professional loss.

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Spence finally arranged a dream fight with Manny Pacquiao scheduled for August 21, 2021. But a retinal tear to his left eye made him unfit to fight and was ruled out of the contest with less than two weeks to go.

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Ugas came as a replacement in just eleven days' notice and staked his WBA Super welterweight title against Pacquiao. His underdog tag did not prevent him to show a classic boxing display to defeat the Filipino boxing legend, who retired after the loss to run as a presidential candidate.

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WBC and IBF champion Spence and WBA champion Ugas are two of the three world champions in the tough welterweight division. Terence Crawford, the WBO title holder is also waiting in the wings.

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A mega buck Spence vs. Crawford unification has an even greater chance of realization as "Bud" became a free agent. He could negotiate with anybody after his stoppage win over Porter in the 10th round of their WBO welterweight title fight on November 20 and he scored the most impressive victory of his 13-year pro career.

* * *

Crawford impressed a capacity crowd of 11,568 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas Strip, Paradise, Nevada. But Crawford has to hold back in the mean time as Spence vs Ugas takes the center stage.

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The WBA have now confirmed that they have approved the fight between their champion Ugas and unified champion Spence. According to Mike Coppinger, a deal is being finalized for a match in March or April next year.

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The WBA originally ordered Ugas to fight Eimantas Stanionis in a mandatory defense, but later the Lithuanian challenger has agreed to let the Ugas-Spence push through. Stanionis will instead fight Radzhab Butaev, with the winner facing the victor of the unification clash.

* * *

Vasiliy Lomachenko wants to get back the world titles that he lost in 2020, according to Top Rank president Todd DuBoef. Lomachenko lost his WBO, WBC Franchise, IBF, WBA titles to Teofimo Lopez. But in November, Lopez lost those titles to underdog George Kambosos in a huge upset in the lightweight division.

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Lopez is moving up to light welterweight and Lomachenko is targeting a world title fight challenging Kambosos. The Ukrainian recently won a very convincing twelve round decision over former IBF champion Richard Commey at New York's Madison Square Garden.

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Kambosos welcomes the idea of fighting Lomachenko but the new lightweight champion has several other options to choose from. But presently, Lomachenko is the only star boxer interested to fight Kambosos in Australia. Lomachenko wants to arrange the fight with Kambosos which Top Rank is planning to realize.

* * *

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will jump in weight to the cruiserweight division to challenge WBC world champion Ilunga Makabu. Canelo now is the undisputed super middleweight champion when he stopped Caleb Plant in Las Vegas. At the WBC annual convention, Canelo's team asked approval to fight Makabu for his WBC title.

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If that happens then Canelo would leap from 168 lbs. to a weight division whose limit is 200 lbs. The Mexican world No. 1 pound-for-pound has won world titles at the junior middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. He is motivated by the aim of gaining a world title in a fifth division.

* * *

LeBron James made history against the Brooklyn Nets. James overtook Kobe Bryant as the NBA's all-time leading scorer on Christmas Day. Bryant scored 395 total points in 16 career Christmas games. James was just 13 points below Kobe's record, and he surpassed Bryant with two free throws in the second quarter.

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Saturday's game by the Lakers was the 16th time that James has played on Christmas Day, which tied with Bryant for the record. During those Yuletide games, the legendary star has averages of 25.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.1 assists and shot 29.4 percent from three-point arc.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.

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