Yordenis Ugas vs. Abel Ramos for vacant WBA 147-lb title, Besputin stripped

By Boxing News - 07/05/2020 - Comments

By Allan Fox: WBA has stripped secondary 147-pound champion Alexander Besputin (14-0, 9 KOs) due to a positive test for a PED, and they’ve reportedly ordered #1 Yordenis Ugas (25-4, 12 KOs) and #6 Abel Ramos (26-3-2, 20 KOs) to fight for the vacant title.

The winner of the fight will face WBA mandatory Radzhab Butaev (12-1, 9 KOs).

Besputin, 29, tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug following his win over Butaev.

He captured the WBA ‘regular’ welterweight title with the win. However, the title has now been stripped of him by the World Boxing Association, and Ugas and Ramos will fight it out for the title.

It only fits that the 33-year-old former six-time Cuban national champion Ugas to be given another title opportunity after his controversial 12 round split decision loss to former WBC 147-lb champion Shawn Porter last year in March 2019 in Carson, California.

Ugas deserved the win against Shawn Porter

Legions of boxing fans saw Ugas winning that fight, but two of the judges surprisingly gave it to Porter by the scores 115-113 and 116-112, the A-side fighter.

Image: Yordenis Ugas vs. Abel Ramos for vacant WBA 147-lb title, Besputin stripped

The third judge seemed to be the only one of the three that scored it logically in giving it to Ugas 117-111. That an identical score that Boxing News 24 had it. It wasn’t a close fight.

Ugas dominated Porter from start to finish and had him on the run the entire fight after he briefly tried to swarm the Cuban fighter early and took punishment from him.

Ramos, 29, is arguably way over his head in facing Ugas, and he’s going to need a miracle for him to win. Ugas is on another level than Ramos, and the WBA might as well give the title to the Cuban talent. It’s a forgone conclusion that Ugas wins this match going away.

Ramos has lost three times in his career to these fighters:

  • Regis Prograis – RTD 8
  • Ivan Baranchyk – UD 10
  • Jamal James – MD 10

Ramos also has drawn against these guys: Levan Ghvamichava and Maurice Hooker.

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Can Ramos hang with Ugas?

Ugas-Ramos should be interesting to see how long Ramos can hold up under the firepower from Ugas. Ramos has a good chin and has only been stopped once in his career to Prograis. That fight was at 140 in 2015.

Ugas is a bigger puncher than Prograis, and he comes forward with both hands looking to do damage. It’s going to be tough on Ramos if he elects to slug with the hard-hitting former Cuban amateur star.

Ugas has lost to these guys:

  • Shawn Porter – SD 12
  • Amir Ahmed Imam – UD 8
  • Emanuel Robles – SD 10
  • Johnny Garcia – SD 8

The losses to Garcia, Robles, and Imam happened a long time ago for Ugas, and it’s unlikely that any of those fighters could hang with him now. Ugas has progressed as a pro, and he’s a much more advanced boxer than he was when he started out in 2010.