Errol Spence Jr. thinks he just as easily could’ve found himself in position to face Yordenis Ugas on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
That’s how close Spence thinks Ugas’ fight against Shawn Porter was when they met March 9 for Porter’s WBC welterweight title. The unbeaten IBF welterweight champion feels a draw would’ve been a fair result that night, but he wouldn’t have had a problem if the judges gave Ugas the nod in that 12-round bout at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
“I think either guy could’ve won,” Spence said on a recent conference call. “I think it was super-close, where either guy could’ve won. I wouldn’t have been mad if it was a draw. Or if it would’ve went for Ugas, I wouldn’t have been – I mean, I wouldn’t have had nothing to say about the decision. So, I mean, it could’ve went either way.”
Porter won a split decision against Ugas.
Two judges – Max DeLuca (115-113) and Steve Morrow (116-112) – scored their fight for Porter, who defended the WBC welterweight title for the first time by beating Ugas. One judge, Zachary Taylor, scored nine of the 12 rounds for the Cuban-born Ugas, who won 117-111 on Taylor’s card.
The typically forceful Porter surprised Spence by attempting to out-box the skillful Ugas (24-4, 11 KOs).
“I would’ve thought he would’ve been more aggressive, like he did in the later rounds, in the early rounds,” Spence said. “But they tried to out-box him and out-class him, so, I mean, I don’t know. Maybe if he would’ve went the other way [aggressive], he probably would’ve lost. So, I mean, he still won at the end of the day. So, you’ve gotta give him a little credit for that.”
Spence – a taller, strong southpaw – doesn’t expect Porter to approach him the way he boxed against Ugas.
“I think the game plan is to, you know, try to beat me up, beat me inside and out, and, you know, try to throw a lot of punches and try to break me down and try to stop me,” Spence said. “So, I just think he’s gonna be more aggressive than he was with Ugas, where with Ugas he was trying to out-box him.”
The 29-year-old Spence (25-0, 21 KOs), of DeSoto, Texas, is consistently listed as a 10-1 favorite to top Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs), of Akron, Ohio.
Their 12-round, 147-pound title unification fight will headline a FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event from Staples Center. FOX’s four-fight offering is set to begin at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and costs $74.95 to view in HD.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
