IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis is hoping to send a message to the boxing world when he faces WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis in a unification bout on Saturday in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Ennis (33-0, 29 KO) has looked every part of a pound-for-pound elite in his career but has yet to land the kind of big fights his talent deserves. In Stanionis (15-0, 9 KO), Ennis has gotten the kind of opponent that has the ability to push him; a well-rounded and powerful fighter who doesn’t have glaring holes in his overall game.
Ennis vs. Stanionis is a meeting of the two best fighters at 147 pounds and the winner will be the only unified champion in the division. One might think a win would drive Ennis to move up in weight, joining a talent-stacked junior middleweight division. In a recent interview with Fight Hub TV, Ennis shot down that notion, saying he was instead focused on becoming undisputed champion above all else.
“It’s important to me because not too many people can say they were undisputed in one weight class and things like that, and I just wanna have my name up there with the greats,” Ennis said. “I want to stamp my name at 147 with the Floyd Mayweathers, Sugar Ray Leonards, and guys like that. I want to be one of the big dogs at the welterweight division so when people hear ‘welterweight division’ they say ‘Floyd, Sugar Ray Leonard, Jaron Ennis.'”
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To add a second belt to his collection, Ennis will have to get past Stanionis, a former Olympian who captured the WBA’s “regular” championship in a 2022 win over Radzhab Butaev and made one successful defense, beating Gabriel Maestre, before being elevated to world champion when Terrence Crawford moved up to junior middleweight.
Ennis was also a beneficiary of Crawford’s moves, being elevated from interim to world champion after the IBF stripped Crawford for planning to go ahead with a rematch with Errol Spence Jr. rather than take his mandatory fight with Ennis.
In Ennis’ most recent fight, he successfully defended his title against the same man he defeated to win the interim belt, Karen Chukhadzhian.
Ennis vs. Stanionis fight card, odds
- Jaron Ennis (c) -600 vs. Eimantas Stanionis (c) +425, unified welterweight title
- Raymond Ford vs. Thomas Mattice, junior lightweights
- Shakhram Giyasov vs. Franco Ocampo, welterweights
Where to watch Ennis vs. Stanionis
- Date: April 12 | Start time: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall — Atlantic City, New Jersey
- Where to watch: DAZN (subscription required)
Prediction
Stanionis shouldn’t be overlooked heading into this fight. His win over Butaev was an eye-opener to how big of a threat he is. That said, while Stanionis is a very good fighter, Ennis has the skills to be a great fighter. Ennis also comes into the fight with a six-inch reach advantage, meaning Stanionis will have to get past Ennis’ very technical approach and heavy punches if he wants to do his own work. Ennis is simply the bigger, better fighter and carries more stopping power in his punches. There are too many reasons to think Ennis gets the win here despite Stanionis being arguably his biggest challenge in the division.
The bigger question is whether Ennis can get a stoppage win and add emphasis to a statement victory. Neither man has suffered a professional loss, nor has either suffered a knockdown as a professional. Ennis wasn’t particularly impressive in the Chukhadzhian rematch, ignoring his jab and lacking defensive responsibility, but he still won a clear decision and the performance feels more like an outlier than the start of a new trend. Pick: Jaron Ennis via TKO7
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