In the realm of boxing anticipation, few fight cards will be as talked about as Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo fight set for September 30 at the illustrious T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which will occur on Showtime pay-per-view.
The featured undercard attraction will see former welterweight world champion Yordenis Ugas and former super lightweight secondary champion Mario Barrios doing battle with possibly the interim WBC welterweight title at stake. The bout first reported by Keith Idec of BoxingScene.com, could have huge implications for the state of the welterweight division, as if Crawford, the undisputed welterweight world champion, moved up to the junior middleweight division - the winner could be elevated to full champion.
Yordenis Ugas, hailing from Santiago, Cuba, is the former WBA welterweight titleholder and is no stranger to the spotlight, having secured the WBA title by defeating Manny Pacquiao in a unanimous decision victory back in August 2021 in a pay-per-view main event. Ugas' journey, however, was not without its adversities. The 37-year-old fighter faced a tough split-decision loss to Shawn Porter in March 2019, as well as lost early fights in his career to prospects such as Amir Imam. Ugas' story is one of self-belief and determination as he never gave up and became a world champion. His last fight saw him get stopped by Errol Spence Jr.
This is his first fight back since that bout where he took a lot of damage, most notably suffering an eye injury. It will be roughly seventeen months since Ugas has last been in the ring making it a very long lay-off after that injury.
Looking to spoil his return to the ring is Mario Barrios, a 28-year-old warrior hailing from San Antonio, who is looking to become a two-division world champion. Barrios has forged his path to the top of the sport as he has headlined two pay-per-views against Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman, albeit he lost both fights. Barrios returned to stop Jovanie Santiago in February 2023 and has been waiting to face Ugas since March of this year.
Barrios has also left his long-time trainer, Virgil Hunter, as he is working with Bob Santos in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The bout is a culmination of the WBC's orders for the fight and could have implications to the top of the division - especially if Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr., leave the division.
The other undercard bouts of the Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo will see junior middleweight Erickson Lubin and Jesus Ramos face off in a rising contenders bout, as well as middleweight stud Elijah Garcia will face Jose Armando Resendiz, who is coming off the biggest win of his career against Jarrett Hurd. Former light heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk is also rumored to be on the card.
