Yordenis Ugas batters Omar Figueroa Jr. for easy unanimous decision
Yordenis Ugas looked like a power puncher against Omar Figueroa Jr. He bullied him all night in an easy unanimous decision victory.
Yordenis Ugas (24-4, 11 KOs) came into his welterweight WBC title eliminator with four losses on his record against previously unbeaten former lightweight titlist Omar Figueroa Jr. (28-1-1, 19 KOs). It was Ugas who looked like the undefeated boxer.
Ugas vs. Figueroa was the primary undercard on the Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman bout on Saturday, July 20. The action started hot, but suddenly fizzled and became a monotonous affair.
Ugas hit Figueroa to the body early in round 1. Figueroa attacked wildly, but Ugas countered him well. Figueroa threw some nice jabs but smothered his punches. Ugas surprised Figueroa with a straight right hand that sent Figueroa into the ropes. The ropes held Figueroa up, and the referee correctly ruled it a knockdown.
Ugas continued to beat Figueroa to the body, and the MGM crowd roared with approval. It was a dominant first round for Ugas.
Figueroa tried to rush Ugas in round 2, but Ugas caught his punches. Ugas was warned for holding, but it looked like it went both ways. Ugas tore into Figueroa with rights and lefts to the body. Figueroa wanted to brawl, but Ugas countered him with uppercuts that hurt.
In the third, Figueroa continued to fight in close, but Ugas absorbed his wild blows well. Ugas punctuated the round before the bell with ripping punches to Figueroa’s body and head. The thuds could be heard throughout the arena.
The pace slowed in round 4 but took a turn in the fifth when the referee deducted Ugas a point for holding. It was a bad deduction, and it made Ugas prone to pushing to avoid being accused of holding. The fight’s pace never recovered.
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Rounds 6 through 12 were identical. Ugas and Figueroa routinely got tied up. Figueroa leaned on Ugas, and then the two would get twisted and have to be separated. Towards the end of rounds, Ugas would flurry with hooks to Figueroa’s body. He also mixed in wild uppercuts that often caught Figueroa on the chin.
Next. Errol Spence Jr. vs. Shawn Porter: Conference. dark
There wasn’t a single round to award Figueroa. It was the first loss of his career, and he’s only 29, but he’s been through a lot in his career. He looked far from a top-tier welterweight. It’s hard to imagine Figueroa winning a title as a welterweight, but Ugas will have a chance at a title after his victory.