Errol Spence Jr. opponent Yordenis Ugas is a clear, present danger because he 'fights hard the whole fight'

• Yordenis Ugas presents a unique challenge for Errol Spence Jr. to navigate Saturday.
• The two welterweight rivals put three world titles on the line for the PBC on Showtime showdown.

Errol Spence Jr. is heading into one of the toughest tests of his boxing career as his opponent Yordenis Ugas "fights hard the whole fight."

The two welterweight boxers collide Saturday in a Premier Boxing Champions bout that takes place inside Arlington's AT&T Stadium in Texas, in an event broadcast on Showtime pay-per-view.

Both Spence, and his trainer Derrick James, are well aware of the challenge ahead, and what's at stake, as the winner will hold three of the division's four major world championships.

Only 147-pound rival Terence Crawford owns the remaining piece of the world title puzzle, and if a final long-awaited unification can be agreed upon, it would be one of the greatest and most lucrative fights boxing could make.

When speaking to Insider recently, neither Spence nor James seemed like they were getting ahead of themselves.

They're aware of Crawford and talk like they want that fight in the very near future. But Ugas is a dog. And that is not lost on them.

Right now, the conversation is about Ugas and the unique type of challenge that the Cuban fighter brings with his height, reach, and punching accuracy.

"He took a chance at being great against Manny Pacquiao, and that's what he did," James told Insider, unsurprised at how the 35-year-old performed in a decision win over the retired great fighter, last year.

"I already knew he was good — a great fighter — intelligent. And he fought Pacquiao the way you're supposed to fight a smaller guy. He imposed his will and made him feel like a little guy."

Spence has watched footage of that win, too. "It was a good win," he told Insider. "Ugas did basically what he was supposed to do — kept him at a distance, used his reach, and advantages like that.

"It was an older Pacquiao, so he wasn't throwing punches like he usually do. But it was a good fight for Ugas and he did what he had to do to win the fight."

Like James, Spence is unsurprised at how Ugas got himself into a position in which he makes a ring-walk in a stadium fight, on pay-per-view, against one of America's very best fighters.

"Ugas didn't do anything that surprised me," he said. "Manny didn't fight with the intensity he did against Keith Thurman, and so it probably just declined in his age that made him fight less ferocious than he usually fights."

Ugas is a unique challenge for Spence

Insider asked James whether preparations for Ugas have been different from the camps prior to his previous opponents like Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter, and Danny Garcia.

"If you look at it like this — Ugas has boxing IQ, boxing intelligence, and he's a counter-puncher like Mikey," said James.

"He can probably punch a little harder, maybe, than Danny. He has the ability to set traps and be smart. He fights hard the whole fight. That's the type of fight that Errol has," in front of him, James said.

What makes Ugas potentially more dangerous is that "he's fighting with a vengeance" because "he's not been visible" for a long time in his career, James said.

That kind of fortitude is something both Spence and James respect.

They're expecting a unique test, a tough challenge, but a hard and rough match.

"And we love fights like that," James finished.