Tonight, at the iconic Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, boxing returns for a welterweight unification match between IBF champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) and WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs). The winner will also be awarded the vacant Ring Magazine welterweight title. A historic night for whomever can claim the crown.
Stanionis is a pressure fighter who, as he says it, will go into tonight’s match with all gas and no brakes. He intends to overwhelm Ennis with his pressure attack. Eimantas is not a volume puncher, but he is accurate and precise with the punches he does throw, landing 40.1 percent of his punches.
He does not possess one-punch knockout power; he breaks his opponents down, methodically attacking them throughout the course of the match. He is relentless and does not stop. Although he uses a high guard defense, he is very hittable.
In his WBA championship match against the hard-hitting Radzhab Butaev, he suffered a lot of punishment, with two bruised eyes and a bloody nose. It was an intense fight fought at close quarters. This is the type of fight Stanionis prefers and enjoys. However, against a fighter of the caliber of Boots, it may pose detrimental.
Jaron is a very athletic boxer whose skills could pose a challenge for Stanionis. Boots has speed, power, and agility. Stanionis’s greatest weakness is his mobility. He’s struggled against mobile agile boxers in the past. The most notable was Justin De Loach, who found limited success by boxing Eimantas on the outside. De Loach outlanded Stanionis for the first seven rounds, 88 to 67, respectively (Compubox). Stanionis eventually closed the distance and knocked De Loach out in the 9th round. De Loach may have lost but showed Stanionis struggles with mobile and agile boxers.
Boots is a multidimensional boxer who can box on the inside or outside and can fight in both the orthodox or southpaw stance. He is very quick on his feet and can easily get out of range and control the distance. Against Stanionis, he will be able to utilize his full repertoire. Boots
should utilize lateral movement to frustrate Eimantas offensively and has a reach advantage of 6 inches that he can use to box at mid to long range. Boots can dictate the pace of the fight and should be careful not to become overconfident and take unnecessary punishment. In his last match against Karen Chukhadzhian, he tried to score a knockout victory and, in doing so, paid for it by getting hit more than he should have. He should not repeat this mistake and give Stanionis
undue opportunities. This is Boots’ moment, his time to ascend to the welterweight throne. He must seize the moment and capture the crown.
Last Updated on 04/12/2025
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