By David Martinez / dmboxing.com

WBC welterweight champion Shawn Porter (30-2-1 / 17 by KO) successfully retained his title with 12 round split decision over Cuban Yordenis Ugas (23-4 / 11 by KO) on Saturday night at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Ugas found the mark in the early rounds using his jab effectively, with Porter having difficulty getting inside of Ugas long reach.

Round five saw both engage solid punches in the middle of the ring with Ugas backing up Porter to finish the round strong. Although two of the three judges gave Porter that round, I did not.

Rounds six , seven, and eight were close, and by all accounts were swing rounds either way; but it was Ugas who continued to beat Porter to the punch and simply out worked him.

Ugas stalked Porter in rounds nine and ten, as Porter developed a slight cut over his right eye.

In the final two rounds Ugas used the jab and his awkward style to perfection, and, surprisingly, Porter went down in round twelve; but referee Jack Reiss ruled it a slip with most observers disagreeing.

The official judges scores were: 117-111 for Ugas, 116-112 for Porter, and 115-113 for Porter … my scorecard was 7 to 5 in rounds, 115-113 for Ugas.

Even with the loss, Ugas has certainly made an impression in the rich crop of current welterweights which includes Errol Spence Jr., Mikey Garcia, Terence Crawford, Keith Thurman, Manny Pacquiao, Danny Garcia, Jeff Horn, and Egidijus Kavaliauskas.

Personally, I think a rematch is in demand versus Shawn Porter – stayed tuned!