Shawn Porter set to make his first title defense against Yordenis Ugas
When: March 9, 2019
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California
Network: FOX – 8:00 PM EST
On March 9, Shawn Porter will attempt the first defense of his WBC welterweight title against #6 ranked contender Yordenis Ugás.
Last September, he defeated Danny Garcia by a unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBC title. In that fight, he showed the ability to both box from the outside.
As for Ugás, he easily defeated Cesar Miguel Barrionuevo by unanimous decision on the Porter-Garcia undercard.
The Challenger: Yordenis Ugas
Ugás (23-3, 11KO) stands at 5’9 with a 69-inch reach. On an eight-fight win streak, his last loss came against the hard-hitting Amir Imam back in 2014 at junior welterweight.
Throughout his career, he has shown the ability to take punches from big punchers. He’ll go into this fight with a two-inch height advantage.
Keys to Victory
For him to be successful and pull off the upset, he’s going to need to establish his jab and make his opponent fight a slow pace fight. He needs to throw off the champion’s offensive rhythm with his timing, similar to what Kell Brook did back in 2014.
In addition, he must keep this fight in the middle of the ring and Porter on the end of his punches. Ugas cannot allow the opposition to get on the inside, where he prefers to be and where Ugas is the weakest.
The Champion: Shawn Porter
Porter (29-2-1, 17KO) is a physical pressure fighter who can also box. Up until the Garcia fight, you would never equate finesse with his style.
As a former football player, he is very athletic, aggressive, loves to fight on the inside and is often accused of being a dirty fighter. He’s also one of the best conditioned fighters today. His weaknesses are his lack of a consistent jab, which often leaves him lunging in and finding himself out of position.
Keys to Victory
The game-plan is simple. Attack the slick opponent head on continuously to keep him uncomfortable. One thing slick fighters harp on is being able to dictate the pace. High pressure makes it harder for them to do this as they constantly have to reset.
“Apply consistent effective aggression behind the jab” should be the motto inside the Porter training camp for this fight!
Prediction
With all things being considered, I see this fight being competitive early on. However, I see Porter breaking the Cuban down heading into the second half.
Porter’s big-fight experience and physical style should be enough to get him the win over the talented and durable Ugás.
The champion shall retain his title by a unanimous decision!
By: Jerrell Fletcher
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