Errol Spence Jr. understands the magnitude of his next test when he takes on Yordenis Ugas in a welterweight championship unification matchup headlining a Showtime pay-per-view event at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday.
Even though he’s fought just once since Sept. 2019, the WBC and IBF welterweight champion Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) is universally considered a top-five pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
In order to hold onto the mythical honor, the DeSoto, Texas native realizes he has to pull off a Big W in Big D.
“Everything is at stake. I have to show why I am one of the best fighters in the world, and the only way to get the ball rolling is with a dynamic victory, especially in my hometown,” Spence said in the second episode of the Showtime series “All Access,” which is available in its entirety on YouTube.
“The connection I have with Dallas and Texas as a whole means a lot. Very few people in boxing right now can bring people to the Cowboys’ stadium to come watch them fight. Everybody buying shoes and their best Sunday outfit just to come watch Errol Spence Jr. fight. It's something that I definitely dreamed of, but I never dreamed the magnitude that is happening now.”
Spence will star in his fourth-consecutive pay-per-view event since 2019 when he faces Ugas. He’s previously decisioned the star trio of Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter, and Danny Garcia.
The 32-year-old was supposed to fight Manny Pacquiao last year in yet another star-making fight, but the party was spoiled once Spence was forced to pull out 10 days prior after suffering a retina injury that required surgery.
“I had a long layoff with my eye injury, had a long layoff with the car accident. I want to show everybody that I'm back and I'm better than before,” said Spence.
“Ugas is a great fighter. He's a good counter puncher. He's a guy that's real gritty. And I feel like a lot of guys, they underestimate him and end up losing. But for me, it's to take his belt and to prove that I am still the top dog at 147 pounds.”
Spence is a near -650 betting favorite while Ugas is a +450 betting underdog in the fight, but the touted amateur and WBA champion Ugas, who beat Pacquiao into retirement as a replacement opponent, is by no means a guppy.
“My motto is, you know, I'm the big fish. I'm the shark in the ocean. Put me in there with other sharks. I want my fans to see that I'm facing a real champion, a real fighter who is just as hungry as me, the big fish,” said Spence.
“If I lose, it would be because he's better than me. It wouldn't be because I didn't train 100% or I wasn't focused. I feel indestructible. I just feel like another fighter can't beat me.
“I'm the best fighter at 147 pounds, arguably the best [fighter] in the world. April 16th, the best is fighting the best. It's a legacy fight.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.