Jake Paul hailed Errol Spence as being among the top five fighters in the world after his stoppage win over Yordenis Ugas.
Spence was returning to the ring after a 17-month lay-off following a serious eye injury but dusted off the cobwebs to dominate Ugas and add a third world title to his collection. Ugas, who had beaten Manny Pacquiao last year, was left with his right eye firmly shut by the 10th round, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
Spence immediately called out fellow world champion Terence Crawford for an undisputed fight to crown one champion at welterweight. And Paul, who has his own unbeaten record in professional boxing, was quick to praise the winner.
"And that is why Errol Spence Jr. is in my top 5 pound for pound list," he wrote on social media. "Ugas has a ton of heart, much respect." Spence was also praised by long-time rival Terence Crawford with the pair finally on a collision course to determine the best welterweight in the world.
"Congratulations, great fight," he wrote on social media. "Now the real fight happens. No more talk, no more side of the street, let’s go!!!" Immediately after the fight, Spence had said: "“Everybody knows who I want next, I want Terence Crawford next. That’s the fight that I want, that’s the fight everybody else wants. Terence, I’m coming for that motherf****** belt."
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Ugas had enjoyed some early success against Spence and knocked his fellow world champion's mouthpiece out in the sixth round. But he was ultimately overwhelmed before he was saved for another day by the referee, despite the Cuban's protestations.
"I feel sad,” Ugas said. “I trained really hard for this fight. All my respect to Errol Spence. He’s a great champion. I’m just sad about what happened tonight. The referee stopped the fight, but I wanted to keep going to the end. I definitely had a chance to win the fight in the sixth round, but he recuperated well. Congratulations to him and his team."
