WBC and IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. faces WBA champ Yordenis Ugas in the main event of a PBC card at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday (Showtime PPV, 9 p.m. ET, with prelims on Showtime at 7 p.m. ET).
Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) is fighting for the first time since defeating Danny Garcia in December 2020. He was supposed to fight Manny Pacquiao last year but was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering a left eye injury during training.
“This fight might not go the distance,” Spence said during Thursday’s news conference. “Ugas is a tough fighter. He’s a guy that embraces the fight and wanting to go toe-to-toe. … If I have to stay there and fight, I will. If we get in the clinch and start fighting, I don’t think it’s going 12 rounds.”
Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs), who took the fight against Pacquiao on 11 days’ notice to replace Spence and scored an upset decision win in August, is a big underdog against Spence.
“I’m a warrior. I’m a competitor,” Ugas said. “I’ve been facing adversity ever since I was 6 or 7 years old. I’ve been fighting ever since I was a little kid. This is nothing new to me. It’s going to be a great night for me but no different than any other fight that I’ve had throughout my boxing career.”
Stay here for live results and analysis from Ben Baby.
Next fight: Errol Spence Jr. vs. Yordenis Ugas, for Spences’ WBC and IBF welterweight titles and Ugas’ WBA “super” welterweight title
Results:
Isaac Cruz def. Yuriorkis Gamboa by fifth-round KO
Fight recap coming up…
Valenzuela demolishes Vargas in Round 1
Saturday night’s Spence-Ugas undercard was in desperate need of a big moment to inject some electricity into AT&T Stadium.
Jose Valenzuela delivered that with one punch — a roundhouse left hook dropped Francisco Vargas in the first round for a KO victory in the first stoppage win on the televised portion of tonight’s card.
Valenzuela (12-0, 8 KOs) looked primed for a big finish, even at the beginning of the first round. After narrowly missing on a big hook early, it seemed as if Valenzuela was going to connect with something dangerous.
The 22-year-old from Los Mochis, Mexico, was so excited after referee Mark Calo-oy waived his arms over Vargas that Valenzuela nearly cleared the turnbuckle while trying to leap the ropes in the corner. After Vargas got up, a cheeky grin seemed to acknowledge Valenzuela’s skill in a verbal exchange between the fighters.
— Baby
Crowley takes step forward with one-sided win over veteran Lopez
Cody Crowley took care of business against one of boxing’s most durable veterans.
The undefeated Canadian kept his record spotless with a unanimous-decision victory over Josesito Lopez, 98-91, 99-90, 99-90. Crowley also scored a knockdown in the seventh round when a cuffing right hook sent Lopez to the canvas.
But perhaps the most interesting moment came in the postfight ring interview, when Crowley (21-0, 9 KOs) said he fought despite a tooth infection that didn’t allow him to feel his face and a chest infection. In revealing that information, Crowley also took his time with the microphone to stump for better competition as he hopes to crack the list of top 10 welterweights.
Give Lopez (38-9, 21 KOs) a ton of credit. The “Riverside Rocky,” who has given elite fighters good competition, even in losses, did his best to contend with Crowley. But the 37-year-old just couldn’t keep up in the 10-round fight. — Baby
Stanionis outpunches Butaev to win title
Eimantas Stanionis closed his eyes, waited for the scorecards to be announced and hoped he had done enough to take a big step in his career.
The fast-rising Lithuanian got the result he needed. He defeated Radzhab Butaev via split decision, 116-111, 113-114, 117-110 to win the WBA “regular” welterweight title. In doing so, he showed that he is a legitimate contender in a strong division.
Stanionis was initially supposed to be the mandatory challenger for Yordenis Ugas’ WBA top belt until he agreed to step aside so Ugas could face WBC and IBF champion Errol Spence Jr. in a unified title fight.
Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) had to weather a blistering body attack from Butaev (14-1, 11 KOs), who committed to throwing shots to his opponent’s torso early in the 12-round fight. As the bout progressed, Stanionis appeared to slow down as the Russian’s work rate remained steady.
But in the 11th and 12th rounds, Stanionis showed why he could be future champion. He connected on several scoring hooks that caught the crowd’s attention. Stanionis also gained some extra cushion when referee Rafael Ramos docked Butaev a point in the 11th round for pushing Stanionis’ head down. When the final scorecards were announced, that ended up being unneeded insurance.
Stanionis’ accuracy also likely played a key role in the win. According to CompuBox, he connected on nearly 37% of his total punches. Meanwhile, Butaev landed just 6.2% of his jabs.
With the win, Stanionis positioned himself as the WBA No.1 challenger, and depending on how the rest of the 147-pound class shakes out in the coming months, he could be fighting for other titles as well. — Baby
Lee goes 10 rounds for the first time in his career
On paper, the undefeated Brandun Lee was the heaviest favorite of the night. A -3000 favorite at one point Saturday night, according to Caesars Sportsbook, Lee should have had a short night against Zachary Ochoa. But Lee was forced to earn a full paycheck in a unanimous decision win, 98-92, 99-91, 99-91.
Lee (25-0, 22 KOs), from La Quinta, California, was the superior fighter. But Lee found Ochoa elusive in the 24-foot ring. Ochoa (21-3, KOs) was willing to stay outside, and Lee couldn’t corral the Brooklyn, New York, fighter when he had him on the ropes.
It was a tricky fight for Lee, who had the type of style designed to be entertaining. But Ochoa was game enough to keep Lee from taking unnecessary risks. — Baby
Mielnicki dominates Karpency in decision win
Junior middleweight prospect Vito Mielnicki won an easy unanimous decision over Dan Karpency with scorecards of 80-72, 79-73, 79-73. Mielnicki (11-1, 7 KOs) has been one of PBC’s high-profile young prospects, having headlined a boxing card last Christmas.
Mielnicki, who has been looking to regain momentum in his career following an upset loss to James Martin last April, did enough to win easily on the cards. While Karpency (9-5-1, 4 KOs) did a good job of evading the Roseland, New Jersey, fighter from the outside, he couldn’t do anything with that evasiveness. Mielnicki did his best work on the inside and racked up the rounds.
It will be interesting to see where Mielnicki goes from here. Karpency, who fights out of Adah, Pennsylvania, has now lost three straight, including a wipeout loss to elite prospect Xander Zayas last October. But at this point, any win is a good one for the 19-year-old Mielnicki. — Baby