Promoter Eddie Hearn predicts that the April 12th unification fight between welterweight champions Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis will be the “biggest fight in the U.S this year” when they headline at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Hearn says this fight will show whether Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) is a “true great” or not. Unfortunately, Ennis has looked anything but great in his last title defense against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9th last year at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Some people believe that Boots has shown his true colors and that he was never as good as the hype.
Stanionis: The Test
After Jaron labored to a 12-round decision, boxing fans began leaping overboard, abandoning the Ennis ship and seeing him as a lost cause.
That wasn’t the first time that Ennis had looked marginal, as he’s turned in repeated poor performances against David Avanesyan, Roiman Villa, and Chukhadzhian in his first fight.
Although Ennis has talked a good game, he has not looked like the same fighter he had been since stepping it up against a higher class of fighters. His boxing IQ isn’t there. We saw that loud and clear when he was schooled by Karen last November. Matchroom promoter Hearn may have buyer’s remorse, regretting pouring a signing Ennis.
If Boots looks bad against Stanionis on April 12th, it’ll be interesting to see if Hearn keeps him on board or if he quits him like a bad habit.
“It’s the biggest fight in the U.S this year. It’s supremacy. #1 against #2. WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine,” said Eddie Hearn to the Stomping Ground about the April 9th fight between IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence and WBA champ Eimantas Stanionis in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“It’s the best fight in the welterweight division, and stylistically, it’s such a brilliant fight. Stanionis is a beast- all action, nonstop action, and really good technique. ‘Boots’ is really up against it. For all the hype and everything, this is the fight where ‘Boots’ shows you he’s a true great, and I can’t wait.”
Hearn is wearing his promoter’s hat when he claims Ennis vs. Stanionis is the “biggest fight in the U.S this year” because it’s clearly not. There’s an excellent card on May 2nd at Times Square that has several fights that will attract more fan interest than this one.
“The Boardwalk Hall, I think we’re going to have 10,000 in there. It’s going to be absolutely incredible,” said Hearn. “It’s the biggest fight in the USA this year and the best fight in the U.S this year. Yeah, April 12th at the Boardwalk Hall.”
There will be a nice crowd at the Boardwalk Hall for the Ennis-Stanionis event. It’ll be up to Boots and Stanonis to put on an entertaining show to make the fans happy. Hearn is counting on Boots doing a number on Eimantas so that he can start lining up his next unification fight against WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. or more likely, WBC champ Mario Barrios.
I feel that Hearn will save Norman Jr. for last because he’s the toughest of the two remaining champions he would need to beat. The longer Ennis waits, the better it is for him because Norman Jr. might get picked off by somebody, which would save him the trouble of having to fight him.
“It’s very special collecting two belts. The WBA and the Ring Magazine,” said Boots to Matchroom Boxing about his fight with Stanionis.
“This is a good fight. Stanionis is one of the top. I think he’s one of the best at that weight,” said trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis. “That’s where you’re going to see Boots go to another level. They haven’t seen the high level yet. I think Boots got into a habit of knocking everybody out. He forgot what got him there. That jab, box, and move.”
Last Updated on 03/31/2025
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