By Ian S Palmer
Yordenis Ugas of Cuba will be meeting Abel Ramos of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania this Sunday, September 6th in a 12-round bout which is being billed for the vacant WBA Welterweight Title. The fight from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles can be seen live in North America on Fox. Ugas last fought in February when he stopped fellow veteran Mike Dallas Jr after seven rounds. Ramos was last in action in February also when he stopped Bryant Perrella in the 10th and final round.
Ugas is 34 years old and fights out of Miami, Florida. He enjoyed an excellent amateur career and won a gold medal as a lightweight at the 2005 World Championships when he was 19 years old. He also captured gold at the Pan American Games two years later and took home the bronze medal from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. He defeated Jose Pedraza, David Arce, Sadam Ali, Francisco Vargas and Darleys Perez as an amateur but was beaten by Amir Khan.
Ugas turned pro in 2010 and has 184 rounds of experience under his belt. He carries a mark of 25-4 along with 11 Kos. He isn’t known for his power with a current knockout ratio of 41.4 per cent and he stands just 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 69-inch reach. Ugas lost a close split decision to former WBC Welterweight Champ Shawn Porter in a shot at the title in March, 2019. His other three pro losses have been to Johnny Garcia by eight-round split decision in 2012, a 10-round split decision to Emanuel Robles in 2014 and an eight-round unanimous decision to Amir Imam in his next fight in 2014.
Other than Porter and Omar Figueroa Jr., Ugas hasn’t really faced any truly elite boxers as a pro, but also has victories over Kenny Abril, Cosme Rivera, Jamal James, Bryant Perrella, Thomas Dulorme and Jonathan Batista. He has plenty of boxing skills along with a solid chin and not much in the way of power. However, he showed against Porter that he’s capable of taking on the best in the world and is a legitimate title contender.
Ramos is five years younger at the age of 29 and he’s boxed 138 rounds since making his pro debut in 2011. He now fights out of Arizona and beat Jame Herring and George Rincon as an amateur while losing to Amir Imam. Ramos is also 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 69-inch reach which puts him at the exact same size and reach as Ugas. He’ll climb into the ring with a record of 26-3-2 with 20 Kos.
As far as power goes, Ramos has enough of it to cause damage as his current knockout ratio stands at 64.5 per cent. He’s got a decent chin although he was stopped by Regis Prograis in the eighth round in 2015 for the vacant NABF Junior Super Lightweight Title. He was beaten by Ivan Baranchyk by 10-round unanimous decision in 2017 for the USBA Super Lightweight Title and was also dropped a couple of times.
He also dropped a 10-round majority decision to Jamal James in 2018 while his draws were an eight-round affair with Maurice Hooker in 2014 and a six-round tilt with Levan Ghvamichava the same year. As we can see, when Ramos steps up in class he usually falls just short and he’ll be stepping up in class again against Ugas on Sunday night. His biggest wins have been against the likes of Roberto Ramirez, Mario Hermosillo, Javier Mercado, Emanuel Robles, Francisco Santana and Jimmy Williams.
Prediction…
Ugas is a world class boxer at the moment while Ramos is a grade below him. However, they have had several common opponents over the years with Ramos holding his own. Ramos can’t seem to get over the hump when stepping up in class though despite his power and I think it’s going to be the same situation here. I’m expecting a Ugas victory on Sunday.
