Mario Barrios came out with his hand up and with a new opportunity in his career, after beating the experienced former champion Yordenis Ugas by a wide unanimous decision on Saturday night on the Canelo Alvarez vs Jermell Charlo supporting bill.
Ugas could do nothing to command the respect of the Azteca and although he tried to punish him, his punching was not enough to turn back a hungry Barrios and avoid his second loss in a row.
Based on jab work (on average nine per round) and counter-punching, Barrios sent Ugas to the canvas in the second and 12th rounds, and although he was visibly hurt in his right eye (the same one that
Errol Spence Jr. hurt in his penultimate fight), he kept going until the fight was over, without the support of his corner.
As if that wasn't enough, in an attempt to buy some time, Ugas twice threw the guard. The referee took away a point as punishment.
After going the full 12 rounds, the scorecards went Barrios' way with scores of 117-108, 118-107 and 118-107.
The outlook for Barrios is promising, as he is now WBC interim welterweight champion; while for Ugas, at 38 years of age and with a second consecutive loss, he has a very complicated road to recover.