Sometimes the best thing for a narrative is a small interruption.
Saturday night in Las Vegas, it could be argued that Yordenis Ugás not only played a role in breaking plans. He provided an intervention.
If the odds had developed accordingly and Manny Pacquiao had beaten Ugás to regain the World Boxing Association (WBA) “super” welterweight title, he would have placed in the 147-pound stable fighting under the Premier Boxing Champions in a real situation.
While Haymon has been successful in diverting his well-promoted welterweight group to other companies (such as Top Rank and Terence Crawford), it was clear that an abyss had formed between Errol Spence Jr. and the rest of their counterparts. But when Ugás intervened to face Pacquiao after Spence withdrew with an eye injury and proceeded to defeat Pacquiao in a blunt unanimous decision, he unleashed a new intrigue in a division with many well-known players.
What Ugás did was give PBC’s welterweight division a much-needed restart and create a series of potentially intriguing clashes, as Spence’s future remains unknown. Ugás went from being a well-known among boxing fans to a genuine champion with his victory over Pacquiao.
“I told you I’m the AMB champion, and I proved it tonight,” Ugás said in his post-fight interview.
Ugás (27-4, 12 KOs) certainly achieved this in front of a crowd that was mostly there to see Pacquiao win in his 72nd and potentially last professional fight. Ugás used an imposing double jab and a great advantage in size, reach and youth to surpass to one of the most legendary fighters of the boxing.
Ever since Haymon and the PBC tried to dominate the division in which Haymon resembles an overly enthusiastic crossing guard trying to cross the street, the promotion team’s welterweights have become stars. Spence, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia became major attractions that demanded large payments and created a legitimate intrigue about who was the best among the group.
But eventually the aforementioned separation occurred. Spence ran through opponents to stay undefeated. Others exchanged victories and defeats. And over time, it became clear that Spence and Crawford were in a single class in the division, and the Cold War between them was the most fascinating part of it all.
When the Spence-Pacquiao fight was announced, it felt similar to the Pacquiao fight against Oscar De La Hoya in 2008. Pacquiao demolished De la Foia and used him as a shooter to become one of the names most important in the sport. Spence’s opportunity to do the same stopped immediately when he suffered a right eye injury that required emergency surgery and forced him to retire from a mega fight he had wanted for years.
If Spence had fought and cattle, the options for him and the PBC in welterweight would have been limited. But with Ugás, a good but flawed fighter, Haymon can essentially start from scratch with Spence’s unknown future. For example, if Porter and Crawford comply with the World Boxing Organization (WTO) mandate for a fight, come what may, Ugás may face Porter in a rematch of his 2019 fight, which Porter won .
Crawford is also the main joker in this situation. His contract with Top Rank will expire later this year. If he joins PBC and gets the quality fights he lacked while on the Top Rank list, he could also be positioned to create a new round-robin of PBC fighters. Any combination of these scenarios could allow PBC to continue its reign at £ 147 for a while longer.
It is also noteworthy that the two most promising fighters are not in the PBC stable. Undefeated 23-year-old Vergil Ortiz, who has won all 18 knockout fights, is signed to Golden Boy Promotions. Jaron “Boots” Ennis (27-0, 25 KOs) is signed with D&D Boxing.
Eventually, PBC welterweights will have to rely on Ortiz and Ennis while they are reaching the weight limit. But after Ugás ’victory, things on the PBC street side are shaping up to be as entertaining as they have been in years.