Yordenis Ugas, former welterweight titlist, to make comeback aged 39
Mar 25, 2026 • 10:16 PM ET
LAS VEGAS – Yordenis Ugas, a former welterweight titleholder and the last man to defeat Manny Pacquiao, is back in the gym and planning a comeback by the summer, he told BoxingScene on Wednesday.
Cuba’s Ugas, 27-6 (12 KOs), who lost his WBC belt to Errol Spence Jnr in 2022 and then bowed out of boxing following a September 2023 defeat to Mario Barrios, says he feels refreshed at age 39 and would be capable of fighting again in the next 1-3 months.
“When they tell me to go, I will be ready,” said Ugas, who previously lost a 2017 title fight in a split decision to Shawn Porter, and then defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision scores of 115-113, 116-112, 116-112 in 2021.
That sent Pacquiao into retirement before his July return, when he fought then-titleholder Barrios to a draw.
Ugas told BoxingScene he will fight under the Premier Boxing Champions banner.
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
