Yordenis Ugas

Yordenis Ugás, born on July 14, 1986, is a Cuban professional boxer ranked as the world's third-best active welterweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, The Ring magazine, and BoxRec. He is also ranked as the eighth-best active boxer, pound for pound, by BoxRec.

Ugás made his professional boxing debut against Dino Dumonjic at the age of 23 on July 9, 2010. He defeated Dumonjic in a four-round unanimous decision. Ugás went on to win ten more consecutive fights, five of which were won by stoppage.

He had his first world title fight against Shawn Porter for the WBC title at the age of 32 on March 9, 2019. Though he fought well and landed cleaner shots throughout the fight, he lost to Porter via a 12 round split-decision.

Some of Ugás' best fights and notable victories include wins over Manny Pacquiao, Mike Dallas Jr., Omar Figueroa Jr., Thomas Dulorme, Jamal James, and Cosme Rivera.

Ugás has a total of five losses in his professional boxing career so far. Two of these losses were in title fights, and three were in non-title bouts. He suffered his first loss against Johnny Garcia via an 8 round split-decision on March 23, 2012, which ended his 11-fight win streak. He has been stopped once and lost four times via decision.

On September 6, 2020, Ugás fought Abel Ramos for the vacant WBA (Regular) welterweight title. He outboxed Ramos, dominating most of the rounds throughout the fight, and earned a split decision victory with one judge scoring the fight 117-111 for Ramos while the other two had it narrowly for Ugás, both scoring it 115–113.

On 21 August 2021, Ugás was scheduled to fight against undefeated WBC and IBF champion Errol Spence Jr. However, Spence had to withdraw due to suffering an injury to his left eye. Subsequently, Ugás took Spence's place and made the first defense of his WBA (Super) title against Manny Pacquiao. The bout was a competitive affair. Ugás used his jab and looping right hand effectively to control the distance. While Pacquiao had moments of success throughout the night, he never truly settled into a rhythm and was noticeably stiffer than usual, not showcasing the deft footwork that he has been known for throughout his career. At the final bell, Ugás was awarded a unanimous decision victory with scores of 116–112, 116-112, and 115–113.

After successfully defending his title against Pacquiao, Ugás petitioned the WBA for a special permit to bypass a mandatory defense against Eimantas Stanionis to face Errol Spence Jr. in a title unification bout. However, the petition was denied by the WBA on 20th October 2021. Ugás and Stanionis were given a 30-day period to negotiate the terms of their bout. They were unable to come to terms, so a purse bid was ordered for December 9 with a minimal bid of $200,000. The winning bid would be split 75/25 in favor of Ugás as the reigning titlist. On 19 December 2021, WBA President Gilberto J. Mendoza confirmed that the Spence-Ugás fight was approved after Stanionis was willing to step aside.

The unification bout was officially announced on February 8, 2022, and was scheduled to headline a pay-per-view card on April 16, which took place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Ugás lost the fight by a tenth-round technical knockout. The fight was stopped on the advice of the ringside physician due to Ugas’ severely swollen right eye. He was losing on all three of the judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage, with scores of 88–82, 88–82, and 88–83.

Furthermore, Ugás won a gold medal at the 2005 World Championships and a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics, both in the lightweight division. He is nicknamed "54 Milagros," which comes from two people: "54" refers to baseball player Aroldis Chapman who wears the number 54 and is Ugás' best friend; "Milagros" is the name of Ugás' mother.

Ugás has a professional boxing record of 27-5, which includes 12 knockout wins and one loss via knockout, and one title win. He is on a one-fight losing streak.

In conclusion, Yordenis Ugás is a world-class boxer who has had many notable victories over formidable opponents throughout his professional career. Despite coming up short in some fights, he is an accomplished competitor with a strong record and a bright future ahead of him.

Yordenis Ugás Fight Record