Yordenis Ugás

Ugás at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Nickname	54 Milagros ("54 Miracles")
Born	(1986-07-14)14 July 1986 (age 39) Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Height	5 ft9+1⁄2 in (177 cm)[1]
Weight	Light welterweight Welterweight
Boxing career
Reach	73+1⁄2 in (187 cm)[1]
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	33
Wins	27
Win by KO	12
Losses	6
Medal record Representing Cuba Men'samateur boxing Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Lightweight Central American and Caribbean Games 2006 Cartagena Lightweight Pan American Games 2007 Rio Lightweight Pan American Championships 2005 Teresopolis Lightweight 2008 Cuenca Lightweight Strandzha Cup 2008 Plovdiv Lightweight World Championships 2005 Mianyang Lightweight World Cadet Championships 2003 Bucharest Lightweight World Cup 2005 Moscow Lightweight 2006 Baku Lightweight

Yordenis Ugás Hernández (born 14 July 1986) is a Cubanprofessional boxer. He held theWBA (Super)welterweight title from 2021 to April 2022, having previously held the WBA (Regular) title from 2020 until being elevated to Super champion. As anamateur, Ugás won a gold medal at the2005 World Championships and bronze at the2008 Olympics, both in thelightweight division.

Ugas' nickname, 54 Milagros, comes from two people: "54" refers to baseball playerAroldis Chapman who wears the number 54, and is Ugas' best friend; "Milagros" is the name of Ugas' mother.^[2]

Ugás was U17 (cadets) world champion in 2003 but lost at the junior championships in 2004 toAmir Khan. On other occasions he lost twice to countrymanLuis Franco at featherweight, he finished third at the nationals 2004 at featherweight.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005 he moved up to lightweight where he was more successful, winning the Cuban Championships from 2005 to 2008 and turning into a star.He won a tournament called PanAm Championships (not the PanAm Games) in 2005, however in other tournaments he lost twice to KazachsouthpawSerik Sapiyev.^{[citation needed]}

At the Senior World Championships 2005 he suffered two heavy knockdowns against Canadian southpawIbrahim Kamal in his third fight but managed to win.The Manila Times writes: "But for two fleeting moments Thursday, unheralded Canadian lightweight Ibrahim Kamal showed the world that the Cubans, arguably the number-one force in amateur boxing, may have jaws of glass after all.^{[citation needed]}The University of Toronto student knocked down Yordanis Ugás in the first and second rounds with two sledgehammer lefts to the side of the chin.But then the Canadian southpaw hurt one knee as he and Ugás wrestled each other to the floor on the third round, leaving him effectively fighting on one leg." Later Ugás beat RussianKhabib Allakhverdiyev and in the final he outfoughtRomal Amanov from Azerbaijan. Cubanet.org writes "Yordenis Ugás, a sharp, technically accomplished fighter but with a suspect jaw, won the lightweight gold for Cuba after an explosive toe-to-toe clash with Romal Amanov of Azerbaijan." It describes him as "a tall, bony lightweight with a deceptively languid fighting style."

In 2006 he won the Central American Championships.

He was part of theCuban national team that won the2006 Boxing World Cup.^[3]

In 2007 he beatYordan Frometa andRoniel Iglesias at the national championships.Later that year Ugás won the PanAm Games in Rio beatingDarleys Pérez andÉverton Lopes. Cuba didn't participate in the World Championships in Chicago.

In 2008 he defended the national championships against old foe Luis Franco and won his Olympic qualifier.In Beijing he was upset in the semifinal by FrenchmanDaouda Sow.

In 2009 he went up to junior welterweight beating Roniel Iglesias in the national final.

In March 2010, Ugás moved to the United States in the hope of beginning a professional career. On 9 July 2010, he made his pro debut.

Ugás moved toNorth Bergen, New Jersey in 2012.^[4]

• 2008 inBeijing, China (as a lightweight)
  • DefeatedHamza Kramou (Algeria) 21–3
  • DefeatedDomenico Valentino (Italy) 10–2
  • DefeatedGeorgian Popescu (Romania) 11–7
  • Lost toDaouda Sow (France) 8–15

• 2005
  • Defeated Fayzuloyev Marufyon (Tajikistan) 28–14
  • Defeated Asghar Ali Shar (Pakistan) 28–14
  • DefeatedIbrahim Kamal (Canada) 23–14
  • DefeatedJong Sub-Baik (South Korea) 34–16
  • DefeatedKhabib Allakhverdiyev (Russia) 45–22
  • DefeatedRomal Amanov (Azerbaijan) 42–28

• 2005 inMoscow, Russia (as a lightweight)
  • DefeatedPichai Sayotha (Thailand) 45–12
  • DefeatedGeorgian Popescu (Romania) RSC-3
  • Lost toSerik Sapiyev (Kazakhstan) 35–46
  • DefeatedMurat Khrachev (Russia) 50–30

• 2003 (featherweight)
  • Defeated Yosbel Melgarejo RSCO 2
  • Defeated Yudenis Gonzalez 35–31
  • Defeated Sander Rodriguez 21–7
  • Lost toYosvani Aguilera 5–17 (2nd place)
• 2004 (featherweight)
  • Defeated Alexios Barrios 3–2
  • Defeated Lester Diaz 18–9
  • Lost toLuis Franco 13–13 54–65 (semifinal)
• 2005 (lightweight)
  • Defeated Ceilan Varona 17–4
  • Defeated Yosbel Melarejo 13–5
  • Defeated Michel Sarria Mendez 20–10
  • Defeated Raudel Sanchez (Cuba) 15–6
• 2006 (lightweight)
  • Defeated José Agramonte RSCO 2
  • Defeated Victor Perez walkover
  • Defeated Yoandri Lomba 23–7
  • Defeated Michel Sarria Mendez 25–9
• 2007 (lightweight)
  • Defeated Frank Isla RSC 2
  • DefeatedYordan Frometa RSCO 3 21–1
  • Defeated Jorge Moiran 15–5
  • Defeated Julio Cesar Figueredo 25–1
  • DefeatedRoniel Iglesias 21–8
• 2008 (lightweight)
  • Defeated Onelis Perez 20–0
  • Defeated Luis Franco 14–4
  • Defeated Eldris Terrero 14–5
  • Defeated Pablo de la Cruz 17–3

On 9 March 2019, Ugás fought his first career title fight againstShawn Porter for theWBC welterweight title. Ugás fought great and landed the cleaner shots throughout the fight. Porter had some success with his jab in the fourth round, but Ugás was the better man in the following round, after both fighters exchanged shots in the middle of the ring towards the end of the fifth. Ugás also had a stronger finish to the fight, and managed to cut Porter near his left eye in the tenth. After the final bell rang, Ugás' team already started celebrating, while Porter just stood and looked at his corner. To many of the fans' surprise, two of the judges scored the fight in favor of Porter, 116–112 and 115–113, while only one of the judges scored the fight in favor of Ugás, 117–111. The crowd was booing what seemed to many as a controversialsplit decision win for Porter.^[5]

In his next fight, Ugás dominated former world championOmar Figueroa to a unanimous decision win, winning every round in the process. All three judges scored the fight 119–107 for the Cuban, who only had one point deducted for holding in the fifth round.^[6]

In his following fight, Ugás foughtMike Dallas Jr. Ugás boxed well and managed to hurt Dallas Jr on multiple occasions. After the seventh round, Dallas Jr's corner had seen enough and informed the referee he would not be continuing the fight.^[7]

On 6 September 2020, Ugás fought Abel Ramos for the vacant WBA (Regular) welterweight title. Ugás outboxed Ramos, dominating most of the rounds throughout the fight. This earned Ugás a split decision victory, with one judge scoring the fight 117–111 for Ramos, while the other two had it narrowly for Ugás, both scoring it 115–113.^[8]

On 29 January 2021, Ugás was elevated to the status of WBA (Super) champion after the previous title-holder,eight-division championManny Pacquiao, was stripped of his title due to inactivity.^[9] The latter had been scheduled to face undefeated WBC andIBF championErrol Spence Jr. on 21 August 2021 at theT-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, until Spence had to withdraw due to suffering an injury to his left eye. Subsequently, Ugás took Spence's place, and made the first defense of his WBA (Super) title against Pacquiao.^[10]

The bout was a competitive affair, with Ugás using his jab and looping right hand effectively to control the distance. While Pacquiao had moments of success throughout the night, he never truly settled into a rhythm and was noticeably stiffer than usual, not showcasing the deft footwork that he has been known for throughout his career. Pacquiao himself admitted after the fight that his legs were "tight". At the final bell, Ugás was awarded a unanimous decision victory with scores of 116–112, 116–112 and 115–113.^[11] According toCompuBox, Pacquiao threw over double the number of punches compared to Ugás, but landed fewer, making the latter the far more accurate boxer on the night. Pacquiao landed 130 punches of 815 thrown (16%), while Ugás landed 151 punches of 405 thrown (37.3%).^[12]

After successfully defending his title against Pacquiao, Ugás petitioned the WBA for a special permit to bypass a mandatory defense againstEimantas Stanionis in order to face the IBF and WBC championErrol Spence Jr. in a title unification bout.^[13] The petition was denied by the WBA on 20 October 2021, who stated: "...we are in special circumstances to resolve extraordinary situations, such as the champion reduction in every division to have only one champion". Accordingly, Ugás and Stanionis were given a 30-day period to negotiate the terms of their bout.^[14] As they were unable to come to terms, a purse bid was ordered for 9 December, with a minimal bid of $200,000. The winning bid would be split 75/25 in favor of Ugas as the reigning titlist.^[15] On 19 December 2021, WBA President Gilberto J. Mendoza has confirmed that the Spence-Ugas was approved as Stanionis was willing to step aside.^[16] The unification bout was officially announced on 8 February 2022. It was scheduled to headline apay per view card on 16 April, which took place at theAT&T Stadium inArlington, Texas.^[17] The PPV was distributed byShowtime.^[18] Ugás lost the fight by a tenth-round technical knockout. The fight was stopped on the advice of the ringside physician, due to Ugas’ severely swollen right eye. He was losing on all three of the judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage, with scores of 88–82, 88–82 and 88–83.^[19] Ugás landed fewer total punches (216 to 96) and fewer power punches (192 to 77) than Spence Jr.^[20]

On March 16, 2023, theWBC ordered Ugas to face the formerWBA (Regular)super lightweight championMario Barrios for the interim welterweight championship.^[21] The title bout took place at theT-Mobile Arena inLas Vegas, Nevada on September 30, 2023.^[22] Barrios won the fight by unanimous decision.^[23]

• Record

• Boxing record for Yordenis Ugás fromBoxRec(registration required)

• 1986 births
• Living people
• Boxers from Santiago de Cuba
• Boxers at the 2007 Pan American Games
• Boxers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Olympic boxers for Cuba
• Olympic bronze medalists for Cuba
• Olympic medalists in boxing
• Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Sportspeople from North Bergen, New Jersey
• Cuban male boxers
• IBA Men's World Boxing Championships medalists
• Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba
• Pan American Games gold medalists in boxing
• Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba
• Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games
• Lightweight boxers
• Light-welterweight boxers
• Welterweight boxers
• Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in boxing
• World Boxing Association champions
• Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games
• 21st-century Cuban sportsmen

• CS1 maint: archived copy as title
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2020
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from August 2022
• Pages with login required references or sources