Jaron “Boots” Ennis triumphed over Eimantas Stanionis, securing a TKO victory in the sixth round to unify the IBF and WBA welterweight titles. The match, held in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday night, pitted ESPN`s top two welterweights against each other.
Ennis, who entered as the IBF champion, strategically targeted Stanionis` body, weakening him with persistent attacks. Utilizing his jab effectively, Ennis created openings to land impactful body hooks.
Stanionis began aggressively, landing a solid counter left in the opening round. Ennis primarily used his jab and incorporated body shots. In the third round, Stanionis connected with a couple of strong overhand rights, but Ennis regained control in the fourth, focusing on body punches and a precise jab that caused Stanionis` nose to bleed.
In the sixth round, Ennis continued to utilize his jab and angles to target the body. A barrage of body shots forced Stanionis to take a knee. Although the round concluded, Stanionis` trainer, Marvin Somodio, decided to end the fight before the seventh round began.
“I felt like I was just finding my rhythm, starting to loosen up,” Ennis commented post-fight. “I was enjoying myself, and my dad encouraged me to keep the pressure on, saying I would stop him. Funnily enough, I dreamt I would stop him in the seventh round like that. It came true.”
Ennis further added, “The key was me having fun, being myself, and facing a live opponent. I put on a show, had fun, using my speed, power, and defense. I even showed a bit of my inside fighting skills.”
Despite not being flawless, landing 19% of his total punches compared to Stanionis` 31%, Ennis surpassed Stanionis in power body punches, landing 23 to 9.
Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) was defending his belt for the third time. His previous fight was a unanimous decision win against Karen Chukhadzhian in November, where he scored a knockdown in Round 5, winning with scores of 119-107, 117-109, and 116-110. He had also defeated Chukhadzhian in January 2023, winning every round on all judges` scorecards.
Ennis has won six of his last eight fights by stoppage, including KO victories over Sergey Lipinets, Thomas Dulorme, Roiman Villa, and David Avanesyan.
Stanionis (15-1, 9 KOs) was the WBA `regular` welterweight champion before being promoted to full champion when Terence Crawford moved to junior middleweight to face Israil Madrimov in August 2024. Stanionis was inactive in 2023 due to multiple postponements of a fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr.
This marks Stanionis` first professional loss.
“I`m going to enjoy this victory, enjoy these belts,” Ennis said regarding his future. “I`ll discuss with my team to decide what comes next.”
In the evening`s co-main event, Raymond Ford (17-1-1, 8 KOs) achieved a unanimous decision victory over Thomas Mattice (22-5-1, 17 KOs), with all judges scoring the fight 100-90. This was Ford`s second win since moving up to junior lightweight, following a split-decision loss to Nick Ball in June 2024.
“He was a tough and smart opponent,” Ford acknowledged after his fight. “I was aiming for a stoppage, a knockout. There were moments when I hurt him, but I let him clinch. He`s a seasoned veteran.”
Ford expressed his desire to fight Eduardo Nunez next, who is scheduled to compete against Masanori Rikiishi for the vacant IBF junior lightweight title on May 28 in Japan.
“I`ve been telling Eddie [Hearn] and my team about this. [Nunez] knows I want this fight,” Ford stated. “It depends on him if he wants to fight me. So, that`s the real question. Hopefully, he succeeds there, wins the belt, and we can make it happen.”