WBA welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis says his management was never contacted by Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ team when he chose to turn down an offer to move up to 154 to challenge Vergil Ortiz Jr. for his WBC interim title on the February 22nd card in Riyadh.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom)
Boots Dodging Unification?
Stanionis says it doesn’t look good that IBF welterweight champion Boots (33-0, 29 KOs) chose not to fight Vergil Jr. at 154. He’d heard that Ennis wanted to stay at 147 and unify the division, so why didn’t he attempt to fight him in a unification?
Stanionis says he’s NOT been contacted for a unification fight against Ennis, and now he’s hearing that Boots may fight Teofimo Lopez next.
Stanionis asks what that says about Ennis. The Philadelphia native Boots turns down the Vergil Ortiz Jr. fight at 154, and yet he’s not looking to make unification fights at 147 either. That feeds into the beliefs that Boots’ critics hold about him. They see him as risk-averse, lacking ambition, and only interested in taking winnable fights against Karen Chukhadzhian, David Avanesyan, and Roiman Villa.
Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) says he will keep busy with his career and hopes to fight on the undercard of Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach on March 1st at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The event will be shown on PBC on Prime Video PPV.
“I’m targeting for that and hoping for that. So, we’ll see,” said Eimantas Stanionis to YSM Sports Media about wanting to fight on the undercard of the Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach card on March 1st.
“We’re here to prove who is the best. I can fight at 140, 147, or 154. It doesn’t matter. Any three divisions. If I get an opportunity, I’ll jump it. I want to be a throwback fighter, like where everybody fights every two to throw months.
“I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes because after the [Karen Chukhadzhian] fight, he said he might go to 154 for the right opponent. So, I think Vergil Ortiz was the right opponent.
Ennis reportedly turned down a career-high payday for the Vergil Jr. fight on February 22nd, and that makes him look worse. If Boots is going to stay at 147 and fight light welterweight Teofimo Lopez instead of one of the champions, then his whole reason for turning down the Vergil Jr. fight goes up in smoke. Then, it becomes obvious to fans that he lacked the courage to take that fight for fear of losing.
Stanionis: “Ennis Could Have Called”
“So, I don’t know what happened. Eddie [Hearn] also said they might go to 154 for a big fight,: said Stanionis about Ennis. “When they got the offer [for the Vergil Jr. fight], I don’t know what it was inside. From the outside, it doesn’t look good.
“Yeah, if he wants to stay at 147, I understand, but looking from the fence, I also appreciate him. When he [Ennis] didn’t take the fight [with Vergil], his people could have called us. I’d be jumping in. Nobody called us,” said Stanionis about Boots Ennis’ promoter never contacting his management about making a unification fight.”
Hearn needs to show fans that he’s giving offers to the other champions at welterweight to fight Boots because it doesn’t look good that Stanionis is saying that he wasn’t contacted by Ennis’ team about a fight. Why would he lie about this?
If he says he hasn’t been contacted, it shows that Boots isn’t interested in welterweight and is just staying at 147 to hide from the predators in the 154 division that would quickly ruin his career in the same way Tim Tszyu’s career has imploded, losing his last two fights at junior middleweight.
“If he wants to stay at 147, he’s supposed to fight other champions. I see with Teofimo, they might fight. I don’t know what’s going on. If he’s going to fight Teofimo, what does that tell you? That’s not 147, you know?” said Stanionis.
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