I’m a warrior. I’m a competitor. I’ve been facing adversity ever since I was six or seven years old,” Ugas said. “I’ve been fighting ever since I was a little kid. This is nothing new to me. I promise you blood, sweat, and everything that I have to give for my country and for my fans.
“People know my story by now. I came back from being 15-3 [following a two-year layoff] back in 2016 and ever since then, I have established myself as part of the elite in this division. If [Spence] is the big fish, I belong in that same tank because I’m willing to swim with the big fishes whenever, wherever.”
Much of the pre-fight narratives have circled around fear that Spence, a 32-year-old from nearby Desoto, Texas, may not be the same fighter physically following not only eye surgery but the drunken crash in late 2019 he was lucky to walk away from after being ejected from his vehicle
When people say I can’t do this or I can’t do that, I prove them wrong every time,” Spence said. “I am the same guy I was before the accident and the injury. I feel like I’m better than that guy that fought Shawn Porter or Danny García.”
The main reason for Spence’s confidence despite those physical setbacks is that he has discovered a work ethic that wasn’t necessarily there upon his initial rise to becoming champion.
With his partying and ballooning up in weight between fights now behind him, Spence has hired a nutritionist for the first time this camp to avoid the difficult weight cuts to 147 pounds he has faced in the past.
“Ugás’ trainer is looking for the same things I’m looking for on film. Salas is smart,” Spence’s trainer Derrick James said. “He’s supposed to look for patterns and see what kind of shots the opponents’ throw.
That’s what trainers are supposed to do. I’ll watch some of his fights; I watch enough. Just to pick up on tendencies and shots he throws and how he throws his punches so I can mimic them. And I’ll let Errol know that this is coming, or that is coming
Ugás’ biggest threat coming into this fight is what you can’t see. It’s his heart and his fortitude. It’s his desire to want to be great.”
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One thing that is certain is no other fighter can claim the same resume as Spence within the division in the aftermath of the Floyd Mayweather and Pacquiao era.
Spence owns victories over Chris Algieri, Kell Brook, Lamont Peterson, Mikey Garcia, Porter and Danny Garcia. And he hopes to add Ugas, Crawford, former champion Keith Thurman and anyone else who stands in his way.
“Everybody knows my motivation,” Spence said. “I fight for my family, my friends, my city, the whole state of Texas. I want to be the three-belt unified champion of the world and I want to become the future undisputed welterweight champion of the world. The first ever to do it.
