By: Sean Crose
Jaron “Boots” Ennis was looking to impress Saturday night when he stepped into the ring in Atlantic City to battle fellow welterweight titlist Eimantas Stanionis in a divisional unification fight. Like the 33-0 Ennis, the 15-0 Stanionis was undefeated and eager to assert himself as the top fighter at 147. The bout was the main event of a Matchroom card broadcast live on DAZN and was scheduled for a championship 12.
WBA titlist Stanionis immediately employed pressure in the first while IBF titlist Ennis worked to keep his distance while fighting behind the jab. Both men were able to score with clean shots. The second was a high octane affair. The fast punching Ennis was able to throw far more shots than Stanionis. With that being said, Stanionis was able to land on Ennis on several occasions. Ennis went down briefly in the third, though it was ruled a shot behind the head. Fortunately, the punch didn’t do much damage. The round saw both men land well, though Ennis looked to have edged it.
It was clear at the start of the fourth that Ennis was looking to end the fight early. He was simply throwing too hard too often to assume otherwise. Ennis even took to showboating near the end of the chapter. There were some explosive moments in the fifth, as Stanionis began to land and land well. Ennis became flashy, accurate and high energy by round’s end, however.
Ennis was able to pick away at the bloody face of Standionis in the sixth, A viscous flurry put Stanionis on the mat. He beat the count but Ennis was clearly a full notch above Stanionis when it came to skill sets. Marvin Somodio, Stanionis’ trainer, stopped the fight before the bell rang to start the seventh. Ennis now owns two of the four world welterweight titles.
Make no mistake about it, Ennis is now one of the top fighters in the world. In other words, the sport now has another welterweight star. For Ennis is the total package. He can hit, he has speed, his footwork is masterful and his level of confidence is soaring. It’s time for the man to be a legitimate attraction. “By far the best fighter of the division,” promoter Eddie Hearn said of Ennis after the fight. “He’s going to be around for a long time.”
That’s good news for fans of the sport.
