In what is a rather tepid April boxing schedule, there is one fight that stands out among all the mediocrity on the schedule, this weekends welterweight unification between Jaron 'Boots' Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis. It takes place at Boardwalk Hall on the eastern oasis that is Atlantic City.
It's a match-up of two undefeated 147-pounders that each have a major title. Ennis(33-0, 29 KOs) comes into this contest with the IBF belt, while Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) is the WBA belt-holder. They are currently ranked one and two in the Ring Magazine rankings. The victor will be crowned their champion.
Ring Graphic
In past era's a match-up of this sort would garner much more attention. Well, to paraphrase Rick Pitino: Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns ain't walking through that door. The reality is that boxing is much less mainstream than in the past, and boxers like Ennis and Stanionis suffer the consequences of that.
You could argue that they are byproducts of that system, or victims of it. As you check the records, you see that the hard-nosed Stanionis has had just two fights since the end of 2021. His last outing came last May, a 12-round decision against Gabriel Maestre. I still recall him being the mandatory for Errol Spence during his days as a welterweight champion, and being forced by his management to take a step-aside. He probably had no say in the matter, but you wonder how much damage that did to his career.
Everything comes at a cost -- even money for not fighting. Time, waits for no man, or career.
Team Stanionis
As for Ennis, after banking a lot of fights early on in his career, has now settled in on the customary twice-a-year schedule that most champions now adhere to. There is a belief that you are only as good as your last effort. Perhaps that's unfair, but then again, when you only perform once or twice a year, well, what else is there to go on? In what was his last outing back in November, Ennis was less than sharp in going the route in his rematch with Kharen Chukhadzhian.
While he won rather comfortably, this was not one of Ennis' most sparkling performances. He got touched more than you'd like, and this effort had you wondering if his days at 147 were numbered. At age 27, this career-long welterweight will soon be a junior middleweight. With that, there was a real sense of urgency to get him some unification bouts before his inevitable move up.
So here we are. Ennis would like to leave his mark in the division, and Stanionis has bills to pay (and is willing to pay the taxes that go along with his check). Whether this current class of welterweights can be further unified remains to be seen. The reality is that there is still a lot of promotional politics at play involved (isn't there always?)
Matchroom Boxing
But we should appreciate this particular bout taking place on Saturday night. It features two combatants that are entertaining within their contrasting styles. Ennis is an athletic multi-faceted fighter who can switch-hit, and is a bit of a daredevil who will leave himself vulnerable to oncoming fire. Which is what makes him a compelling watch most of the time.
As for Stanionis this is a rock-solid physical specimen who applies steady pressure, and has a set of heavy hands that wear down his foes. He's not hard to find in the ring, and you could make a strong argument that he's the best offensive threat that Ennis has faced in his career.
There's a lot of filler content that is now foisted upon boxing fans on various platforms by their promotional partners with whom they have exclusive deals with. What we usually get is a series of 'house' fights with results that are seemingly predetermined. Ennis-Stanionis is one that years ago would've been accepted and approved by HBO. As a DAZN subscriber (a day one, as the kids say), I'm looking forward to getting my money's worth, here.
DAZN
There should be a sizable crowd inside the Boardwalk Hall -- which at one time was a regular host for important fights -- as Ennis has shown that he can draw in this region. Matchroom Boxing has promoted him twice in his hometown of Philadelphia with great success. Imagine that, boxers actually being showcased in their home markets. There should be some real energy inside that venue on Saturday night.
It may not necessarily be a 'big' fight by traditional standards, but it is a damn good one.
