Spence put on a clinic with his speed and body work before forcing a stoppage due to swelling on Ugas' right eye
Arlington, Texas — In his return from a 14-month layoff and surgery on a detached retina, unified champion Errol Spence Jr. made quite a statement at Saturday's homecoming about where he stands in the welterweight division.
Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) extended his control as a power player at 147 pounds by integrating his WBC and IBF titles with a WBA belt from Yordenis Ugas (27-5, 12 KOs) in his 10th-round TKO . Sports rivals inside an electric AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas.
A native of nearby DeSoto, 32-year-old Spence traded big shots as he wanted to make a statement against the brave Ugas, who in Round 6 fired a flurry of shots to Spence that knocked out his mouthpiece. To Spence's credit, he never went down and closed Ugas' right eye, forcing referee Lawrence Cole to stop the fight at 1:44 of Round 10 on the advice of a ringside doctor.
Spence, who previously had a history of losing 147 pounds, hired a nutritionist for the first time and looked to be in the best shape of his career.
"I had no doubts at all. I believed in myself 100% and trained 100%," Spence said. "I didn't want a tune-up fight or someone I knew I could beat. I wanted someone who would bring out the best in me and Ugas did it.
"The nutritionist helped a lot. I lost the weight and they did a great job. It was just my work in the gym. I felt like my timing was off [her early comeback] but I just kept working out." I think that was because of the long layoff and I was so excited to be in the ring and pick up the pace."
According to Showstats, Spence, who struggled with a resolute determination while pushing an insane pace, overtook Ugas by a margin of 216 to 96. He also landed 40% of his power shots.
After the win, in what was only the 12th title unification bout in welterweight history, Spence did not hesitate to reveal that he wanted WBO Champion Terrence Crawford for the undisputed championship.
"Everybody knows who I want next, I want Terrence Crawford next," Spence said. "That's the fight I want."
Ugas, a 35-year-old native of Cuba, fell last for Spence and upset Manny Pacquiao, but would have no heroics in Round 6 despite a spirited effort. Ugas hurt Spence with his right hand and knocked his mouthpiece out. Spence took his eye off the ball and took two more punches when Ugas caught him flush and sent him staggeringly into the ropes.
"I thought the referee said wait, so I stopped," Spence said. "I think he hit me three or four shots. You have to defend yourself all the time and I didn't."
Cole controversially stopped the action as soon as Ugas began casting it in hopes of a knockout to give Spence a chance to clear his mouthpiece.
Spence, who was never dropped as a pro, continued to lead and outplayed Ugas, who was largely limited to one punch at a time. They forced Ugas to fire at close range and kept biting until the swelling on Ugas' right eye became a major problem.
CBS Sports was with you all the way through Saturday night, so be sure to follow along with the live results and highlights below.
Spence vs. Ugas fight card, odds
- Errol Spence, Jr. (c) def. Yordenis Ugas via 10th-round TKO (doctor stoppage)
- Isaac Cruz def. Yuriokis Gamboa via fifth-round TKO
- Jose Valenzuela def. Francisco Vargas via first-round knockout
- Cody Crowley def. Josesito Lopez via unanimous decision (98-91, 98-91, 99-90)
- Eimantas Stanionis def. Radzhab Butaev via split decision (116-111, 117-110, 113-114)
- Brandun Lee def. Zachary Ochoa via unanimous decision (99-91, 99-91, 98-92)