Jaron “Boots” Ennis goes up against Eimantas Stanionis at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 12. The Philadelphia native puts his IBF welterweight title on the line, while his opponent from Lithuania brings his WBA 147-pound strap to the ring.
Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) looks to dethrone his next rival and secure two of the four major belts in the division en route to becoming undisputed. In his previous bout last November, in front of his hometown crowd at the Wells Fargo Center, the undefeated 27-year-old earned a unanimous decision in a rematch against Karen Chukhadzhian, following a fifth-round stoppage of David Avanesyan at the same venue last July.
“Boots” Ennis is opposed by Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs), who promised to derail his plans. The unbeaten 30-year-old is coming off a win by unanimous decision against Gabriel Maestre last May.
“I’m here to collect all the belts, and I’m locked in on Stanionis,” said Ennis. “Win on Saturday and I’m the WBA, IBF, and Ring Magazine champion, and then we’ll see what’s next. But I am zoned in on Stanionis, no doubt, and I’m ready to give everybody what they are asking for. It’s a big fight for him and I’m glad he’s taken the fight and given the fans what they want. I’m number one in the division, he’s number two, I’m dialed in, I’m so focused on this.”
‘I’m so excited for this fight’
“I’m here to do one thing and that’s put hands on you, that’s it. I’m not trying to talk or go back and forth on the internet. I know that fighters are trying to hype the fight, but when it’s already sold, you don’t need to do it. Everybody is different though.”
“I’m at the point right now where I don’t care what people say because it seems that no matter what I do; if I pitch a shutout – ‘oh you should have knocked him out.’ If I KO someone, ‘oh we don’t know if he has a gas tank.’ I do what’s best for me and I’m locked in on me, I don’t care what other people have to say, and I’m not worried about any other fight but this one.”
“The fans want to see a little bit of everything, and I feel I give them that, but I can’t worry about what people say, and if it is negative, then that’s just motivation to shut them up.”
“The Chukhadzhian fight was hard because I’ve already beaten the guy 12-0 and we’re forced into fighting him to keep the IBF belt, so at the end of the day you have to do what you have to do. I took care of the mandatory and I’m glad I had the fight with him, it’s made me be a lot smarter in this camp and I’m just ready and I’m so excited for this fight, I will show out for sure.”
Among the bouts featured on the Ennis vs Stanionis undercard, former champion Raymond Ford (16-1-1, 8 KOs) of Camden, NJ takes on Thomas Mattice (22-4-1, 17 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio at super featherweight. Mexico’s Arturo Popoca (15-0-1, 8 KOs) faces Christian Carto (23-1, 16 KOs) of Philadelphia at super bantamweight. Brooklyn-based Shakhram Giyasov (16-0, 9 KOs) of Uzbekistan and Franco Maximiliano Ocampo (17-2, 8 KOs) of Argentina clash at welterweight.