The day has come. The welterweight boxer from Santiago, Yordenis Ugás, will fight this Saturday against the American Errol Spence Jr. for the unification of the titles of the International Boxing Federation (IBF), the World Council (WBC) and the World Association (WBA). .
Ugás will become the first Cuban to fight for three belts on the same card, and he will do so in a sacred venue like AT&T Stadium, the stronghold of the Dallas Cowboys in American football and home to some of the most important duels in professional boxing. in the last decade.
Manny Pacquiao, “Canelo” Álvarez, Antonio Margarito or Errol Spence Jr. himself have passed through there, who retained the welterweight belts of the World Council and the International Federation on his return to the ring in December 2020 , one year after a traffic accident.
In that fight, Spence Jr. defeated Danny Garcia and immaculate his record at 27 professional fights (21 KOs). According to the records of multiple specialized platforms, the American has not lost a fight since 2012, when he succumbed in the quarterfinals of the London Olympics against the Russian Andrey Zamkovoy, the bronze medalist in the end.
This big day could never have come without my mom’s dedication and prayers since I was a child. Thanks mom, without you none of this would be possible. I need her prayers from her and her blessings from her every second of my life. It’s a pain not being able to have you in the front row in my fight. pic.twitter.com/sWqLtG4z32
— Yordenis Ugas (@YordenisUgas) April 16, 2022
Undoubtedly, Spence will be a tough stumbling block for Ugás, but the Cuban comes to this fight with high morale and motivation through the roof, after winning the World Boxing Association belt last year with his resounding victory against the legendary Filipino Manny Pacquiao.
Ambition, talent, humility and seriousness have been the keys in the career of the indomitable fighter, world amateur champion in Mianyang 2005 –when he was only 19 years old– and Olympic bronze medalist in Beijing 2008. To this we must add 27 wins and four losses as professional.
However, his life has not been as simple as his record may paint. Ugás left Cuba by boat for Mexico in 2010, and from there he made a land crossing to cross the border with the United States. There he settled paying the high price of eight years without seeing his family.
“As an emigrant I have suffered the same as all those who leave: separation. It is a great pain, one leaves Cuba, but Cuba does not leave you. The place where we come from is never forgotten, no matter the success or the money and it has not been easy the life of an unborn in a country run by people who think that the citizens are their slaves and a professional decision can be taken as treason ”, said Ugás in a interview to Play Off Magazine about the challenges she has faced after leaving Cuba more than a decade ago.
As if this were not enough, Ugás experienced another significant bump for 27 months, between May 2014 and August 2016. Two consecutive losses against the northerners Emmanuel Robles and Amir Iman collapsed his plans and dented his confidence, to the point that he decided hang up the gloves Fortunately, he returned to the ring on August 12, 2016 and since then has posted 12 wins in 13 fights.
The 35-year-old from Santiago can increase his record in the duel against Errol Spence Jr., which will mark a before and after in his career.
