Bernard Hopkins says Spence destroys Ugas on April 16th

By Boxing News - 03/18/2022 - Comments

By Jim Calfa: Errol Spence Jr will “smash” Yordenis Ugas next month in their three-belt unification fight at welterweight, says boxing legend Bernard Hopkins.

IBF/WBC 147-lb champion Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) has the “pedigree” and talent to destroy the 35-year-old Cuban fighter Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) in their match on Showtime pay-per-view at theĀ AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas.

A lot is riding on this fight for Spence because if he loses to Ugas, he will miss out on more significant matches against Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman, Terence Crawford, Conor Benn, and Josh Taylor.

Those are all fights that will likely bring in many more PPV buys Spence than his clash against Ugas, a complete unknown with casual boxing fans until his recent victory over 42-year-old superstar Manny Pacquiao last August.

Last summer, Spence, 32, suffered a tear of his left retina, forcing him to pull out of his August 21st match against Pacquiao.

Errol officially pulled out of the contest on August 10th and was quickly replaced by Ugas. They took advantage of the two years of ring rust and advanced age of Pacquiao to defeat him by a 12 round unanimous decision.

“Errol Spence will smash him,” said Hopkins to Fight Hub TV about his prediction Spence’s unification fight at 147 against Yordenis Ugas. “I look at the pedigree of talent, and I look at the last few fights beyond the pullout,” said B-Hop.

Image: Bernard Hopkins says Spence destroys Ugas on April 16th

Spence’s left eye remains a question mark for this fight because he could reinjure it during training camp, and if not, it could cause him issues during the contest with Ugas.

Typically, when fighters come back from eye surgery, they take tune-up fights against opposition that don’t possess much power and have little chance of landing numerous headshots.

In Spence’s case, he’s jumping straight into a fight against a top-level fighter in Ugas, who has good power.

This could be a mistake on his part. Spence scores knockouts with volume punching, and to land his many shots; he’ll need to stand directly in front of Ugas, putting himself in harm’s way.

If his left eye goes out on him in this fight, Ugas will undoubtedly stop him. He’s not going to fight him with a torn retina because there will be too much risk of his career ending from that injury.

“I believe he knows he has to make statements every time he fights,” Hopkins said of Errol. “Good for us but bad for his opponent, period. He’s in the mix of big conversations. You don’t think they’re all listening.

“He knows he must look damn-near perfect if not perfect every fight,” Bernard said about Spence. “There’s no room for error. From what I see, he’s handled that very, very well.

“That’s a different conversation,” said Hopkins when asked his view on a fight between Spence and Terence Crawford.

It’s too bad Hopkins couldn’t quickly collect his thoughts to give his view on a potential fight between Spence and Crawford. If that fight does happen, it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top.