Eimantas Stanionis takes on Jaron “Boots” Ennis in a welterweight championship unification on April 12 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The unbeaten WBA champion from Lithuania looks to pull off an upset and claim the IBF strap from the representative of the host country.
In his previous bout last May, Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) faced Gabriel Maestre of Venezuela. The contest was his first ring appearance in over 25 months after the scheduled bouts against Vergil Ortiz Jr. were canceled.
Battling it out on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs Jaime Munguia in Las Vegas, Stanionis walked away with the win, defeating Maestre by unanimous decision. After 12 rounds, the scores were 119-109, 118-110, and 117-111. With the victory, the 30-year-old made the first successful defense of the belt that he claimed by split decision against Radzhab Butaev in April 2022.
In his next fight on Saturday, Eimantas Stanionis goes up against unbeaten 27-year-old champion “Boots” Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) of Philadelphia, PA. Ahead of the fight, the Kaunas native said he was going to break and beat his opponent.