Spence-Ugas welterweight unification fight set for April 16 at AT&T Stadium

A quick note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: If you have upgraded to a paid subscription, thank you! If you have not, please consider doing so to receive the most content. A paid subscription is also your way of keeping this reader-supported newsletter going and supporting independent journalism.

The three-belt welterweight unification fight between WBC/IBF titlist Errol Spence Jr. and WBA counterpart Yordenis Ugas will take place on April 16 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Spence announced the fight, which was agreed to months ago but did not yet have a site locked in until the past several days, on social media on Tuesday afternoon. Ugas also wrote on his social media the fight was a go.

“Great fight for the fans,” Ugas wrote. “Everyone wins when they play the best against the best. Two of the top three (at) 147 (pounds) in the world fighting for 3 belts. I’m proud to be the first Cuban fighting for 3 belts in one night. Thank you all for your support.”

Soon after Premier Boxing Champions made it official with an announcement on tickets but without any other information on the event, including which of its broadcast partners, Showtime and Fox, would handle the pay-per-view telecast.

Spence’s last three fights have been on Fox Sports PPV but the fight with Ugas very well could land on Showtime PPV, a source told Fight Freaks Unite.

The fight will mark Spence’s third time headlining at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. He hails from Dallas suburb DeSoto, Texas, and has fought at the stadium in two of his last three bouts, a lopsided shutout decision over former four-division titlist Mikey Garcia in 2019 and a unanimous decision over former two-division titleholder Danny Garcia in December 2020.

In between, Spence won a split decision over Shawn Porter to unify two titles in September 2019 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Spence is attempting to return from a torn retina. The eye injury was discovered in a routine pre-fight exam a little less than two weeks before he was scheduled to face Manny Pacquiao this past August in Las Vegas.

With Spence sidelined and having surgery, Ugas, who had been scheduled for the Pacquiao-Spence undercard, stepped in and the match was made on 11 days’ notice. He outpointed Pacquiao to retain his title in an upset and sent Pacquiao into retirement.

Spence (27-0, 21 KOs), 31, was cleared to train again late last year and will be making his sixth title defense since winning the IBF belt by 11th-round knockout of Kell Brook in his hometown of Sheffield, England in May 2017.

Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs), 35, a Cuban defector fighting out of Miami, will be making his second title defense. He has also faced Porter. While Spence narrowly defeated Porter in non-controversial fashion, Ugas lost a disputed split decision to him in March 2019.

Although the undercard has not been announced it is expected that Radzhab Butaev (13-0, 10 KOs), 28, a New York-based Russia native, will make the first defense of his WBA “regular” title against mandatory challenger Eimantas Stanionis (13-0, 9 KOs), 27, a 2016 Olympian from Lithuania. When the fight was agreed to both camps and the WBA said it would be on the same card as Spence-Ugas.

Stanionis was initially ordered by the WBA to next face Ugas as part of its four-man box-off to get down to one titleholder in the division. But Stanionis volunteered to step aside and allow Ugas to face Spence to unify while he faces Butaev, who won the first bout of the box-off on Oct. 30 on Showtime by stopping Jamal James in the ninth round to take the “regular” title.

The WBA has said it will order the Spence-Ugas winner and Butaev-Stanionis winner to meet next as the sanctioning body continues to reduce the number of titles it recognizes.

Also, lightweight contender Isaac Cruz (22-2-1, 15 KOs), 23, of Mexico, is a candidate to appear on the card, a source told Fight Freaks Unite. On Dec. 5, Cruz gave secondary lightweight titlist Gervonta Davis all he could handle in a disputed decision loss.

To upgrade your subscription please go here: https://danrafael.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you so much for your support of Fight Freaks Unite!

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danrafael1/

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanRafael1

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanRafaelBoxing