BOXING’s welterweight division will take the penultimate step towards undisputed status this weekend when IBF and WBC king Errol Spence unifies against WBA Super champion Yordenis Ugas.

With WBO champ Terence Crawford now a promotional free agent and waiting in the wings, the winner of Saturday’s clash in Arlington, Texas will be one step away from boxing’s acclaimed four-belt era undisputed list.

Southpaw Spence, 32, will start as favourite, bringing two belts to the table and having beaten a far richer vein of opponents. However, questions remain about what he’s physically got left to offer boxing after cheating death three years ago.

Just a month after adding the WBC crown to the IBF belt he took from Sheffield’s Kell Brook, Spence flipped his Ferrari Spider in a one car accident at home in Texas at near 3am. He would later be charged with a DUI (drinking under influence).

Despite “travelling at a high rate of speed” and being ejected through the windscreen due to not wearing his seatbelt, incredibly, Spence appeared to have escaped with cuts and bruises but no broken bones.

He eventually returned in December 2020, with a comfortable points decision over stablemate Danny Garcia, but questions remain over his his battered body’s ability to handle the physical demands of being a championship fighter.

FIGHT NIGHT – ALL BOUTS

That was highlighted more than ever last summer when the much-hyped unification with then WBA Super champ Manny Pacquiao was confirmed for August. Just 10 days out, Spence withdrew due to a retinal tear to his left eye. Ugas stepped in as a late replacement.

The much-avoided Cuban would go on to not only outbox Pacquiao but take his final world title and send him into retirement, setting himself up for this weekend’s blockbuster main event.

Ugas, 35, is a serious operator. A high volume, well-schooled boxer with underrated power he’s also not adverse to getting down and dirty in the trenches when he has too either.

Three of his 27-4 career defeats were split decisions as the away fighter. And after his win over Pacman, he’ll be in Arlington this week talking up a Crawford rematch for himself. After all, he beat the 147lb #1 during a typically glittering amateur career.

All eyes will, of course, be on Spence however. When he’s firing on all cylinders he is a fast, accurate, silky operator with a predatory finishing streak. See 21 KOs in 27 straight wins. But does that version of Errol Spence even still exist?

Just one fight in three years is hardly befitting of a man ranked in every pound-for-pound top 10. In the same timeframe for instance, Canelo Alvarez moved into a unified an entire weight class in five fights!

Injuries aside, Spence has the skills and speed to leave Ugas punching shadows and, once he gets his nose in front, he becomes ever more dangerous as the Cuban starts to chase the fight.

But will Spence’s body hold out against the genuine threat of a rival world champion riding the wave of a legacy defining victory?

I believe so, but get ready for another split decision defeat for the veteran.

TIP: Spence on Points