The talking and weighing in is over.
Jaron “Boots” Ennis will put his IBF welterweight crown on the line against WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis in a premier unification fight. Both fighters were on weight on Friday and are systems are go.
Boxing fans, this is the kind of fight you should watch and appreciate. Two undefeated champions in the prime of their careers looking to unify titles in one of the sport’s premier weight classes. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Here’s the viewing info. The action gets underway at 8 p.m. ET and happens at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The fight card will be streamed by DAZN.
- Main Event – Welterweight – (c) IBF champion – Jaron “Boots” Ennis vs. (c) WBA champion – Eimantas Stanionis
- Junior Lightweight – Raymond Ford vs. Thomas Mattice
- Welterweight – Shakhram Giyasov vs. Franco Ocampo
- Super Welterweight – Omari Jones vs. William Jackson
Ennis is eyeing the potential of being appointed the Ring Magazine welterweight champion. If he knocks off Stanionis, he will achieve that goal. Stanionis has the opportunity to gain some respect. Despite holding the WBA title, many aren’t recognizing him as a legitimate champion at 147 pounds.
If he pulls the upset and defeats Ennis, he will force people to respect him and likely earn another strong payday in a rematch with Boots.
“One fight at a time,” Ennis told me during an exclusive interview. “As long as I be myself—and like I said, I finally got what I wanted: unifications and the Ring Magazine title. That’s motivation right there. Not too many people can say they held that belt. Floyd was the last one.”
Stanionis’ come-forward, body-punishing style could present a different kind of challenge than Ennis has seen in his career.
“I don’t know—it just hurts more than the head,” Staninonis said to me during our exclusive interview. “I watched a lot of Mexican boxing growing up—Chavez, Canelo. That style stuck with me.”
The 30-year-old Lithuanian last fought in May 2024 when he defeated Gabriel Maestre via unanimous decision.
“I know he’s a big star in the U.S., and I’ve always been the underdog here,” Stanionis said. “I knew if I lost, I’d have to go back to my country. That’s what drives me.”
Stanionis hasn’t shown off major punching power in his career. His last win by KO came in December 2020 when he stopped Janer Gonzalez in the ninth round. As his level of competition has raised, his KO rate has dipped.
That hasn’t been the case for Ennis.
While he didn’t stop Karen Chukhadzhian in his last fight back in November 2024, he’d scored back-to-back stoppage wins over David Avanesyan and Roiman Villa in his last two fights.
In fact, Chukhadzhian is the only opponent Boots hasn’t stopped since 2017. Boots looks to bang in most fights and it seems clear, Stanionis isn’t going to back up.
Perhaps the power advantage could be the deciding factor on Saturday night. We’ll find out soon. Be on the lookout for my live coverage of the event.
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