‘Boots’ Ennis shows he’s the king of 147 after seeing off Stanionis in six
Barrios and Norman Jr unifications await for welterweight ruler
“All gas, no brakes” was the mantra recited by Eimantas Stanions at Thursday’s press conference. Unfortunately for the likable Lithuanian, he ran into a verified monster truck in Atlantic City on Saturday night.
While Stanionis’ piston-like jab was pumping as usual, it was unable to throw the considerably bigger Ennis off his stride. Ennis stepped off at angles, showboated and landed scything hooks around the guard, carving up Stanionis’ body.
‘Boots’ does get hit quite a lot. Against Stanionis, it didn't matter as he was unable to make a dent. Stanionis had been extremely inactive over the past few years and he was never able to take Ennis into the deep waters of the second half of the fight, which could’ve become interesting.
Instead, Stanionis nodded to cornerman Marvin Somodio that he’d had enough after receiving a count at the close of the sixth. The combination of fighter and corner called it off in between rounds.
It was a one-sided masterclass from the Philadelphian, who finally has the standout win he craved. Now holding the WBA belt, along with his IBF strap, unified Ennis is huge at the weight. The size difference here was stark. Making 147 cannot be easy for a man who has teased a move up to 154 in the past.
Mario Barrios holds the WBC welterweight title and Brian Norman Jr. holds the WBO. Hopefully, Ennis will unify with those two before he eventually shifts up to super-welterweight. A clash with Vergil Ortiz Jr would be intriguing.
I was surprised that Stanionis did not come back out for the seventh and have one last swing at success. It was a two-belt unification after all. High stakes stuff. That said, the body shots were absolutely ripping him to pieces and the size disparity was clearly too much to overcome.
Wins for Ray Ford, Giyasov and Omari Jones on the Ennis-Stanionis undercard
Raymond Ford stepped up his charge towards the top by shutting out Thomas Mattice on all three cards across 10 rounds. Mattice tucked up and received heavy body blows. When he dropped his hands, Mattice lacked the speed to match Ford, who looked strong.
Pushing aside the unimaginable tragedy of losing his young daughter, Shakhram Giyasov channeled his energy into a fourth-round stoppage of Franco Ocampo. The Uzbek, known as ‘Wonder Boy’, is now 17-0 and on the cusp of realising his world title dream.
Olympian Omari Jones scored another quickfire stoppage, getting rid of William Jackson in a single round. An unexpected right hand to the body had ‘Action’ Jackson on his knees and counted out.
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About Steve…
Current existence: Online editor at Boxing News Magazine.
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