Raise your hand if you believed that Mario Barrios would take care of business against Yordenis Ugas.
Most weren’t expecting the 28-year-old to do much on September 30th. Sure Barrios is talented. He is, after all, a former 140-pound secondary titleholder, and has enough skills to trouble anyone. But for all of his abilities, in the two biggest moments of his career, he came up incredibly short.
Both Keith Thurman and Gervonta Davis seemingly showed that Barrios wasn’t of the elite level. So, with Ugas coming to town, another loss seemed likely. Barrios, however, had other plans.
Ugas was punished for practically every second of every round. The former 147-pound champ couldn’t get his offense going and his normally solid defense was severely lacking. It was one of his proudest moments as Barrios exited the arena with the WBC interim title wrapped around his waist.
Ostensibly, the only person who may have been happier was Bob Santos, Barrios’ trainer. It’s been a rollercoaster for the duo. Santos was right by his man’s side when he knocked off Botirzhon Akhmedov for the WBA “Regular” 140-pound title. He was also there during his two defeats.
Everything is coming full circle for the pair but there’s no time to sit back and smell the roses. No, Santos wants to keep the ball rolling.
Another big-time fight is what the famed trainer wants for his young star. At 147 pounds, there are a number of names to choose from. With that said, there’s one person in particular that Santos wants above everyone else.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing an all-out shootout with Mario and Errol Spence in Texas,” revealed Santos during an interview with 210 Boxing TV. “I think that would be great for Texas.”
Santos’ plans might be too late to become a reality. After Spence was handed a violent beatdown at the hands of Terence Crawford earlier this year, he wrote on his Instagram account that he’ll campaign at 154 pounds going forward.
By and large, Santos hopes that Spence is being disingenuous. Not only does the longtime trainer want Spence in Texas, but he has the exact venue in mind as well.
“Errol Spence at Cowboys Stadium.”
By Hans Themistode