Ugas and Stanionis come to terms for spring title fight
The winner must then face Radzhab Butaev
Just a day before they were slated to go to purse bids, WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas and mandatory challenger Eimantas Stanionis have “finalized” an agreement for their upcoming title fight. Mike Coppinger reports that the bout is targeted for “springtime” in the States, though “there’s no set date or location yet.”
Ugas (27-4, 12 KO) pushed hard for a three-belt unification fight against Errol Spence Jr., whom he replaced against Manny Pacquiao before scoring the best win of his career this past August, but the WBA ordered a four-man box-off to get their interim and “world” welterweight titles off the table.
The first of those semifinals saw Radzhab Butaev beat down Jamal James on Halloween night, and the second of them pits Ugas against former Olympian Stanionis (13-0, 9 KO). The 27-year-old started 2021 strong with a competitive decision over Thomas Dulorme, but had to settle for a no contest when his and Luis Collazo’s heads collided four months later.
SAnctioning body idiocy aside, this should be a nice, gritty fight between tough, skilled welterweights. We’ll let you know once we’ve got more info.
