Yordenis Ugas easily outboxes Abel Ramos, but almost gets robbed

Welterweights Yordenis Ugas and Abel Ramos met on a rare Sunday night main event for the vacant WBA “regular” title. Ugas controlled the fight for the win. 

On Sunday, Sept. 6, welterweights Yordenis Ugas and Abel Ramos met to see who would be the new owner of the WBA “regular” title. Both men wanted it, but Ugas possessed the tools to become a champion for the first time.

Ugas (26-4, 12 KOs) was the heavy betting favorite according to the Sportsbook Review, with odds against Ramos hovering around 9-1.

Ramos (26-4-2, 20 KOs) nearly lost his previous bout against Bryant Perrella but stopped Perrella with one second remaining in the fight. Like his contest with Perrella, Ramos was thoroughly outboxed by Ugas but persisted in being dangerous because of his one-punch power.

Ugas controlled the action in the first two rounds. Ugas pressed the action and reached with his right hand. Ramos fought back, but Ugas kept him on his back foot. Ugas relied heavily on his jab and scored well with it.

Things heated up in round 3. Both men traded shots, and Ramos stepped up the pace in a big way. He suddenly became accurate with his jab and connected on several hooks, one which buckled Ugas’s knees. Ramos made Ugas uncomfortable for the first time and showed him that he belongs in this fight.

Ramos bounced on his toes in round 4, but Ugas engaged him first with a one-two combination. Ugas stayed calm and probed with his jab. Ramos surrendered his momentum from the previous round.

Yordenis Ugas lacks immense power, but he proved to have elite boxing skills against Abel Ramos.

By round 6, Ugas found a home for his right cross, but Ramos took it in stride. Ugas almost seemed angered that Ramos took it so well and landed several more. Ramos was too inactive and got outscored badly in this round. Ugas got wild, throwing an overhand right that missed, and he fell to the canvas off balance. He tried to hurt Ramos with his punches.

Ugas was on autopilot for the remainder of the fight. He thumped Ramos with his jab all night and dominated all punch statistics, according to CompuBox. Ugas landed 124 more punches than Ramos and was much more accurate.

Ugas briefly found himself in danger in the last two reconds of the 12th and final round. Ramos loaded up on a left hook that landed on Ugas’s head. Ugas’s legs buckled for the second time of the fight, but the bell rang. Ramos ran out of time to land a dramatic knockout punch.

Ugas vs. Ramos should have been an easy fight to score. PBC’s unofficial scorer Marcos Villegas score the fight for Ugas 120-108, having him pitch the shutout. That was a good score. Somehow the judges got it wrong and almost robbed Ugas of a win.

Two judges scored the bout 115-113 for Ugas, while judge Lou Moret insanely had it 117-111 for Ramos. The 115-113 scores were bad enough, but Moret’s score was criminal. He shouldn’t be considered for judging duties in a title fight ever again.

Ugas is the owner of a world title and keeps the door open for a major fight in the future. PBC is loaded with welterweight talent, so he shouldn’t have a problem nailing down and attractive bout.