Welterweight contender Yordenis Ugas has been the odd man out among the elite welterweights aligned with Premier Boxing Champions. On Saturday night at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, he took a step toward correcting that.
The 33-year-old Cuban came out at the opening bell with unusual aggression and never looked back, eventually stopping Mike Dallas Jr. in Round 7.
A slick counterpuncher by nature, Ugas might have been trying to channel the spirit of a certain basketball player. Written on his trunks were the words “Mamba Mentality,” his was of honoring the late Kobe Bryant.
The stoppage came at the end of seventh round, after Dallas’ corner decided their charge had taken enough punishment.
Ugas (25-4, 12 KOs), who lives and trains in Miami, pressed the action all night, as he tagged Dallas with numerous overhand rights and clubbing body shots. In the opening round alone, Ugas staggered Dallas a few times, including at the end, with a left hook-right hand-left hook combination.
Dallas (23-4-2, 11 KOs), once a promising name in the sport before he fell violently to Lucas Matthysse, had a few strong moments as he flitted around the ring and tried to connect on potshot right hands. They were too few and far between, however, to give him a winning chance. It was a survival game for Dallas, who began breathing heavily from the mouth by Round 4.
Ironically, Dallas had his best offensive stretch in the last round – Round 7 – landing a few straight rights, but he petered out with a minute remaining. Ugas stormed back to steal the round with a series of unanswered blows.
Ugas has won two consecutive fights since his highly disputed points loss to then-titleholder Shawn Porter in March 2019. Porter would go on to face Errol Spence Jr. in a unification bout that September, losing a split decision.
While Ugas has expressed an interest in a rematch with Porter, his priorities are to win a title, which means, at least in the foreseeable future, bouts with either Spence or Manny Pacquiao. (Boxing politics will most likely prevent him from facing the Top Rank-promoted welterweight titleholder Terence Crawford.)
Ugas was originally supposed to face undefeated welterweight Alexander Besputin, but negotiations were scrubbed after Besputin, who allegedly tested positive for PED in his previous bout, reportedly suffered an injury.