Opinions and Observations: Spence-Ugas

Every once in a while, a trainer and fighter come together to devise and execute a masterful game plan that makes boxing a joy to watch. Errol Spence's comprehensive victory over Yordenis Ugas on Saturday was such a case. Trainer Derrick James did his homework on Ugas. He understood exactly what was in front of him. Ugas was a counterpuncher who could be outworked. In addition, James determined that Ugas' counter right hand was his best weapon, and that he needed space to throw it. Thus, James created a brilliant game plan, where Spence would crowd Ugas' left side and attack with volume, which in theory would significantly reduce the effectiveness of Ugas' right hand. 

A game plan can be great, but a fighter needs to buy in to it, to commit fully for it to be realized. And where Spence deserves credit is that he understood a certain portion of his skill set would be required to win the fight, but other attributes of his could be detrimental to the cause, such as power shots from range and utilizing his back foot. Furthermore, Spence needed to commit exclusively to inside fighting, a style that he hadn't totally embraced in recent years. Over his last few fights, Spence had blended aspects of fighting from all ranges, but against Ugas, he agreed to the grueling and risky approach of coming right into the kitchen and working relentlessly. 

Spence (left) landing his left uppercut
Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott

The results were stunning. Spence scored a tenth-round stoppage as Ugas' right eye completely closed from the inside carnage that Spence had administered. Ugas at best won two or three rounds and after the sixth he was reduced to sporadic single shots here and there. 

The geography of the fight was mostly Spence operating on Ugas' left shoulder, where Spence could work his left hand freely, but he was at such an angle where Ugas couldn't throw his right hand with much effectiveness. Spence and James were giving Ugas the opportunity to use his left, especially to the body, but they correctly gambled that by taking away Ugas' right, Spence would hold a huge advantage in the fight. 

Ugas wasn't ineffectual every second of the fight. He was able to land some cracking counter rights at the end of the third and he did unload on Spence during an unusual moment in the sixth where Spence lost his mouthpiece and was looking at the ref to stop the action; Ugas connected with his best right in the bout, which flung Spence to the ropes. And in fairness, a knockdown should have been called at that moment since the ropes kept Spence from going down. But those were really all of the highlights from Ugas' performance. He did get through with some solid body shots on occasion, but he seldom was able to put punches together or seize momentum in the fight, even for small periods.  

Spence's left uppercut was his money punch on Saturday. James and Spence noticed that Ugas leaned his head forward with a high guard, protecting straight shots to the head. But there was room between his gloves, especially coming from underneath. Spence landed his uppercut dozens of times throughout the fight and they were punishing blows. Ugas was never able to make a defensive adjustment to neutralize the punch. 

Spence mixed in other power punches from close range as well. His right hook to the body cracked Ugas on numerous occasions. His straight left to the body was pulverizing. 

Often, we talk about boxers who make fights harder for themselves than they need to be; but Spence-Ugas was the opposite. Ugas is a skilled and rugged fighter who has proven that he can defeat top-level welterweights. However, Spence looked levels above anything that Ugas had to offer. But I want to stress that it didn't have to be that way. Spence capitalized on Ugas' weaknesses and succeeded. It may have looked somewhat easy, but that's only because he followed a great game plan. If he decided to fight at mid-range or retreat, it could have been a much different fight, a much more competitive one. 

Spence and his team celebrate the victory
Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott

It was not a great night for Ismael Salas, Ugas' trainer. Round after round, a similar pattern of the fight manifested and yet Ugas remained tethered to the spot right in front of Spence. Ugas rarely tried to move forward. And except when he was hurt, he rarely used his back foot. Ugas has the capacity to attack or retreat and be effective, but he chose to do neither of those things. Instead, he remained a target for Spence, as if he couldn't process what was happening to him. The fight demanded a radical adjustment for Ugas to turn it around, but nothing of note was implemented. 

Let's also give Spence credit for additional aspects of his performance. Having survived a car crash that wrecked his body and undergone retinal surgery on his left eye, it would have been perfectly understandable and even reasonable if he insisted on fighting Ugas with more caution. But Spence attacked ferociously the enitre fight, demonstrating that he had put both traumas behind him. Furthermore, Spence's agility and stamina looked much better than it had in his last fight, against Danny Garcia. Spence made weight without any outward signs of difficulty and moved around the ring on Saturday like a much younger version of himself. He didn't labor. He didn't need to take a round or two off. There was no retreating to avoid wear-and-tear on his body. He was fresh and energized. 

Spence did not look like a fighter in decline on Saturday. His commitment to the sport was evident in how he fought and how he prepared for the match. Yes, he can be hit, but he hits back, and he keeps coming with power and volume. He remains a force at welterweight, a big draw, and one of the best in the sport. Fortunately, injuries didn't derail his career. He's an elite talent and I'm thankful that we'll get to see more of him.    

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook. 

Spence-Ugas: Preview and Prediction

Errol Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) and Yordenis Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) meet Saturday for a three-belt welterweight unification at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. In addition to the inherent drama of two of the top fighters at 147 lbs. squaring off, Spence's physical health brings added intrigue to the matchup. Spence was slated to meet Manny Pacquiao last year, but he failed an eye exam. Ugas stepped in as the late-replacement opponent and won a unanimous decision over Pacquiao. Spence subsequently had retinal surgery and let's also not forget that he recently had missed a significant period of time due to a serious auto accident. 

Spence's left eye may be the most important factor in this fight. Retina injuries can be career-threatening and although Spence has received the all-clear from the relevant organizing authorities, there are physical and psychological concerns about his injury that are important in assessing the fight. Will Spence's repaired eye allow him to go 12 hard rounds against a top-level fighter? Ugas's counter right hand might be his signature punch and that lines up perfectly with Spence's left eye. You can bet that Ugas will target it. 

And then there are the psychological ramifications of the eye injury. Will Spence try to limit exchanges because of a concern for his eye? Will he fight with the same type of aggression and comfort level that he had prior to his injury? These are all open questions heading into the fight and shouldn't be minimized. Spence in theory has edges over Ugas in terms of volume and being the effective aggressor (a scoring criterion), but if he fights more passively, does he lose those two advantages?

Spence and Ugas at the fight announcement
Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott

This leads to a discussion about fighting styles. Ugas is a counterpuncher. He can carve up opponents that have defensive shortcomings. He can counter well with either hand. His top three weapons are his counter right to the head, his straight right to the body and his left hook to the body. He's accurate with his punches and he's also rugged on the inside. He can work expertly in the clinch and he is also adept at catching, blocking and parrying shots. Ugas does hits solidly, but he's not a knockout puncher. You won't find a stoppage over a champion or a legit contender on his resume. 

Spence is one of the few fighters in the sport who excels at every range. He has a great jab when he wants to use it. He can slug it out from the outside or at mid-range and he's adept at coming inside and throwing combinations in tight quarters. He's a vicious body puncher and often finishes up combinations with a pinpoint right hook. 

As Spence has matured as a fighter he has learned how to pace himself. He'll have rounds where he applies a lot of pressure, but then he also knows when to take a breather on the outside and use his legs. He can hold his ground and trade or use the ring to his advantage. 

Both Spence and Ugas will have distinct advantages early in the fight. The angles of Ugas' counters often surprise opponents. Many of his shots, especially to the head, are somewhere between a straight punch and a hook. He'll also throw wider hooks with both hands. It often takes fighters several rounds to acclimate to his punching style, and some never do. 

Spence's length and expert combination punching trouble opponents. When he's in his groove, his punches flow effortlessly. He puts four and five shots together with ease and he expertly varies his punches to the head and body. And his game isn't about hand speed, but precision. He takes the extra split second to land his shots. This premeditation also allows him to be more defensively responsible. He doesn't wing shots off-balance or out-of-position. His feet are in the right position and he throws his punches with perfect weight distribution. 

Where Spence can get into trouble is against the unconventional or when he misjudges range when leaving the pocket. He never seemed fully comfortable against Shawn Porter's ferocious onslaught, which included many untraditional punches. He also got tagged by a number of Danny Garcia right hands from distance late in their fight. Spence wasn't in danger of losing that bout at any point, but there were a few occasions were Spence thought that he was out of range, but really wasn't. And make no mistake, despite the relatively lopsided scoring of the fight, he got hit with some very hard shots. 

In my estimation I don't see either guy winning by stoppage. Ugas doesn't have KO power and Spence has been slightly more risk averse as he has matured. If the knockout isn't there for him, he's not going to force it. I believe that the judges will have a hard task in this fight. They will need to determine if Spence's overall offensive package or Ugas' sharp, single counter shots will carry each round. And it might not be an easy task to arrive at that conclusion. 

Prediction: 

I must admit that I've changed my pick since the fight was originally announced. Initially I liked Ugas to win because I think that he'll be able to land his counter right frequently against Spence. And I also believe that he'll surprise Spence with the quality of his body shots. 

However, I think that optics and politics will play a big role in the scoring of the fight. Remember, aggressors have an inherent advantage in scoring rounds. Effective aggression is a scoring criterion in it of itself. Spence will more often be making the fight. He'll have the crowd behind him. He's the bigger star. There will be periods of the fight where he will land three shots to Ugas' one, and although Ugas' connect will be solid, it still might not be enough to nullify Spence's success in the exchange. 

Counterpunchers need to win rounds clearly, especially when they are the B-side. They can't leave doubt among the judges. Spence will be doing more work and I will expect him to end the fight with more punches thrown and landed. Although I don't think that he will dominate, I believe that he will do enough to have his hand raised at the end of the night. And I am also assuming that his eye holds up.  

I believe that Spence-Ugas will be an intriguing tactical fight that will contain periodic moments of excitement where both will land impressive shots. And I think that we'll also see high-level exchanges between two who are masters of their craft. But Spence will let his hands go more frequently and that will be enough to carry the day. Punch-for-punch, these two fighters might have similar effectiveness. But when things are close, the natural tendency will be to gravitate to the fighter who is doing just that little bit more.  

Errol Spence defeats Yordenis Ugas, winning 7 or 8 rounds in the fight. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.  

Opinions and Observations: Pacquiao-Ugas

This is what an end of an era looks like. On Saturday Manny Pacquiao could hardly land his signature straight left hand on Yordenis Ugas. Pacquiao's vaunted head movement and elusiveness were only to be found in reminiscences of yesteryear. Ugas seemed to connect with everything that he threw: jabs, left hooks to the body, counter right hooks. By CompuBox measures, he landed almost 60% of his power punches, a statistic that would normally suggest a rout. But Saturday's fight wasn't quite that. Manny competed and he kept throwing and throwing. Little got through, but he had moments where his combination punching got the best of Ugas. In the end, Ugas rightfully was declared the winner with scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 116-112. 

The only thing from his halcyon days that Manny retained on Saturday was his indomitable spirit. He threw over 800 punches, a remarkable number for a 42-year-old and essentially twice as many as Ugas attempted. For as solid as Ugas looked in the ring, especially as a late-replacement opponent, he should be thankful that he had three competent judges who didn't credit Manny's mostly unsuccessful volume and weren't overly sympathetic to Pacquiao's towering legacy in the sport. 

Ugas (left) connecting with a stiff jab
Photo courtesy of Ryan Hafey

Ugas succeeded in playing a dangerous game. By throwing fewer than 40 punches a round, a low number for the welterweight division, he left a lot of dead moments in the ring for Pacquiao to fill in the gaps. Yes, Ugas' defense in the pocket was terrific, and he put on a clinic of how to defend without giving up one's position, but he ran the risk that many counterpunchers do. The eye naturally gravitates to the one who's putting in the work, who's trying to force the action of the fight. If Manny would have been awarded the victory on Saturday (and I'm glad that he wasn't; he didn't deserve it), there would have been far worse robberies that occur in boxing on a regular basis. 

But what couldn't be ignored was Ugas' counter right hook, a shot that not only helped to neutralize Pacquiao's straight left, but also wouldn't allow him to escape the pocket unscathed. As a result, Pac didn't dart in and out throughout most of the fight. He mostly stayed in front of Ugas or just off to the side. Those dynamics made it much easier for Ugas to find Manny and to defend Pac's incoming shots. I can't emphasize this point any more clearly: without Manny Pacquiao's ability to rush in and out in unpredictable rhythms, he becomes a much more ordinary fighter. Ugas didn't have to worry too much about whether the straight left would be coming to the head or body, because there weren't many of those straight lefts from distance. Instead, Manny was mostly stationary, and mortal. 

When Manny did have success it was from short combination punches on the inside. Those instances (especially early in the fight) still highlighted his abundance of skills. But he didn't have the hammer, the punch that an opponent couldn't see. He got some work done, but little of it was causing damage or forcing caution from Ugas.  

There will be additional time to reflect upon Pacquiao's career if and when he announces his retirement. But needless to say, they broke the mold with him. From abject poverty to untold riches, he epitomized the dream that every kid has who laces up the gloves. But even more than the financial rewards, he was a genuine icon in a sport with few remaining. Along with Floyd Mayweather, he carried boxing on his back for well over a decade and his fight nights were can't-miss affairs. He provided joy for millions of fans and helped grow the sport, teaching aspiring fighters the world over that boxing can be a force for good. It can lift fighters, families, communities and even nations.

Ugas celebrates his victory
Photo courtesy of Ryan Hafey

As for Ugas, Saturday was very much the product of good fortune, but he is not an undeserving recipient. If Ugas had faced the Pacquiao of years ago the result most likely would have been different; however, Ugas had put himself in position to be at the right place at the right time. Similar to a number of instances in his recent run, he was called in as a last-minute replacement. When the phone rang, he said yes, a valuable lesson for fighters in this era, where too many of them need a Goldilocks scenario to get in the ring. Ugas never complained about the lack of preparation or a full camp, he just beat who was put in front of him. He's a talented fighter who had been released by a previous promoter, retired in frustration with the sport and rededicated himself to boxing upon his return. And at 35, no spring chicken either, he achieved a defining moment. No longer just a tough contender or a rugged "opponent," Ugas is now rightfully a champion. 

Pacquaio-Ugas was not a fight for the ages. It didn't give me much pleasure when watching. Ugas was better. He deserved to win, but it was more that he was good enough than truly dominant. I hope that he gets additional opportunities to fight top welterweights. But the story was truly about Manny, his fall from the top-level of the sport and a reminder that even the greatest fairy tales have a final page and come to an end. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook. 

Punch 2 the Face Podcast

In this week's Punch 2 the Face Podcast, Brandon and I previewed Pacquiao-Ugas. We welcomed noted cutman Mike Rodriguez to the show. Mike will be working Pacquiao's corner this weekend and has worked multiple Ugas corners. We also recapped a huge boxing weekend. We cover who impressed and who disappointed. To listen to the podcast click on the links below: 

Apple podcast link:

Spotify link:

I heart radio link:

Stitcher link:

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.