Ledhed1 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 By Darshan Desai, Uncrowned Jaron "Boots" Ennis has finally landed the unification fight he has been waiting for. IBF champion Ennis and WBA titleholder Eimantas Stanionis will unify the welterweight belts on April 12 at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing confirmed Thursday. Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) won the IBF interim title with a 10th-round KO win over Roiman Villa in 2023. After the Errol Spence Jr.-Terence Crawford undisputed championship bout, the IBF title was vacated, and Ennis was upgraded to full champion. Ennis signed a three-fight deal with Hearn's Matchroom after that upgrade, then defended the belt twice in his hometown of Philadelphia. Ennis halted David Avanesyan in five rounds in July 2024 and decisioned Karen Chukhadzhian four months later in an unpopular rematch. With Ennis on the last fight of his deal, Matchroom was under pressure to deliver him a marquee bout — and it has done just that. In a major risk, "Boots" declined big-time fights with Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Teofimo Lopez because of his desire to face another 147-pound champion. Now that gamble seems to have paid off. Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) dethroned Radzhab Butaev to claim the secondary version of the WBA welterweight championship in April 2022. He managed zero bouts in 2023 as he was ordered to defend against Vergil Ortiz Jr., only to have Ortiz withdraw from the clash on two separate occasions. The Lithuanian ended a two-year layoff when he outpointed Gabriel Maestre on the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia undercard in May 2024. Stanionis was upgraded to full WBA champion in August and now will end an 11-month layoff when he enters this unification bout against Ennis in April. Ennis and Stanionis are rated as the No. 1 and No. 2 welterweights in the world, respectively. Due to those rankings, the Ring Magazine championship will also be on the line in this fight. To make the unification bout possible, WBA mandatory challenger Shakhram Giyasov agreed to step aside from his position. The Ennis-Stanionis winner will also have to face an IBF mandatory that will be determined in the Lewis Crocker vs. Paddy Donovan matchup on March 1 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cableaddict Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I like Ennis , but he's had a pretty easy ride so far. I'm not sure this changes anything. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledhed1 Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 1 hour ago, Cableaddict said: I like Ennis , but he's had a pretty easy ride so far. I'm not sure this changes anything. If he has true aspirations, he can't be happy with this 3 fight Matchroom deal. Avanesyan and the Chukhadzhian rematch, now the only thing going for Stanionis is he has a belt. Ennis isn't even proving he's the best welterweight in America. Versus Eastern Europe/Western Asia? He's cleaning up. The only reason he ascended to the top of the mythical rankings is that the elite at 147 all cleared out to 154, not within Ennis's control tbf. But if all he wants is all the belts, it'll be against a diminished field. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshDevilRob Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Am glad that Ennis is getting a Unification fight. Eimantas Stanionis is decent enough though has lacked activity. 'Boots' needs to put on a top performance. He's the best in the division though the division lacks depth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now