Photos: Jaron Ennis drops & stops Eimantas Stanionis in six rounds to unify titles

Jaron “Boots” Ennis was victorious on April 12 when he faced Eimantas Stanionis at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Philadelphia’s undefeated welterweight titleholder defeated the fellow champion from Lithuania via sixth-round RTD, sending him to the canvas with body shots and uppercuts along the way. Stanionis’ corner waved the fight off before the start of the seventh round.

With the win, undefeated “Boots” Ennis improved to 34-0, 30 KOs, retained his IBF title, and claimed the WBA belt. Stanionis, who also entered the boxing ring undefeated, dropped to 15-1, 9 KOs and lost his WBA strap.

In the co-feature, Raymond Ford (17-1-1, 8 KOs) of Camden, NJ defeated Thomas Mattice (22-5-1, 17 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio by unanimous decision at super featherweight. After 10 rounds, the scores were 100-90 across the board. Ford retained his WBA Continental North America title and secured his second straight victory, while Mattice suffered his second straight defeat.

Among other Ennis vs Stanionis results, Omari Jones of Orlando, FL dropped and stopped William Jackson of Cincinnati, Ohio with a body shot at super welterweight. The official time was 1:47 into the first round. Jones improved to 2-0 with 2 KOs, while Jackson suffered his fourth straight defeat and dropped to 13-6-2 with 5 KOs.

In the main card opener, Shakhram Giyasov defeated Franco Ocampo via TKO, dropping him with body shots. The time was 1:57 into the fourth round. Giyasov of Uzbekistan improved to 17-0, 10 KOs, while Ocampo of Argentina dropped to 17-3, 8 KOs.

Ennis vs Stanionis prelims

Atop the prelims, Zaquin Moses (3-0, 2 KOs) of Newark, NJ knocked out Alex Pallette (1-4, 1 KO) of Puerto Rico at super featherweight. The time was 2:13 into the second round.

Among other bouts, Tahmir Smalls (14-0, 10 KOs) of Philadelphia, PA defeated Earl Bascome (13-2, 2 KOs) of Baltimore, MD by knockout with a barrage of punches, dropping and hurting him with a left hook. The welterweight bout was halted at 1:13 into the first round.

Arturo Popoca (16-0-1, 9 KOs) of Mexico defeated Edgar Joe Cortes (9-8-1, 1 KO) of Vineland, NJ by TKO at super bantamweight. The time was 1:30 into the eighth round. Cortes, who went through the ropes for the first time in over two and a half years, took the fight on short notice, replacing Christian Carto (23-1, 16 KOs), who withdrew due to injury.

Kicking off the action, Francisco Rodriguez (7-0, 7 KOs) made his hometown ring appearance, defeating Naheem Parker (5-2, 2 KOs) of Camden, NJ via third-round RTD. The fight was stopped before the start of the fourth round, as Parker was deemed unable to continue.