IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) will take on WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) in a two-fight unification showdown at 147 on April 12 live on DAZN from the Boardwalk Hall encountered. in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Can Ennis shine?
This is the unification match that Ennis (27) has been wanting since he was upgraded to IBF welterweight champion in November 2023. Boots needs an impressive performance in this fight as he has looked average in his last four fights against Karen Chukhadzhian x 2 , David Avanesyan and Roiman Villa.
You could say this is Boots’ first test, but after his last fight against Chukhadzhian, it’s hard to imagine a more brutal matchup for him than that one. He made Karen look like a mini Artur Beterbiev with the way he soaked up the punishment from the Ukrainian fighter in their rematch at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on November 9.
If Stanionis is a better fighter than Karen, Jaron could lose this fight on April 12 and make Eddie Hearn regret signing him.
Ennis’ decision to turn down a bigger payday in a fight that would have moved him into a start against WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on next month’s Riyadh Season card on February 22 makes it even more critical that he excels against Stanionis.
Boxing fans think Boots is a fighter who lacks ambition and confidence after being schooled twice by Chukhadzhian.
Stanionis is coming off a 12-12-round unanimous decision over Gabriel Maestre on May 4 last year. He looked better in that fight than Ennis has in any of his last four contests.
Hear: “It’s the #1 vs #2”
“It’s simply a brilliant fight,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “When we signed Boots, I told him that we would deliver associations for him, so it’s great to get it over the line for Jaron, and I know that with the biggest fight of his career right in front of him, he is going to shine brighter than ever. Eimantas is a brilliant fighter, and is without a doubt the #1 and #2 in the division.”
Stanionis is seen as #2 in the division, but WBO champion Brian Norman Jr. and WBC champion Mario Barrios could be even better. Neither of these guys have taken on good enough opponents in the division to say who is #1 or #2.
Ennis decided that he wanted to stay at 147 until the bitter end to try to become the undisputed champion, no matter how long it took. Some will claim this is foolish and slows down Boots’ career, but the alternatives could be worse. If Ennis moves up to 154, he will have to fight the killers in that division, who hit harder and are better defensively than him.
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