Jaron “Boots” Ennis forces Eimantas Stanionis to retire in Atlantic City with a one-sided display of power – perfect welterweight title unification.
Atlantic City – Jaron “Boots” Ennis (34-0, 30 knockouts) impressively underlined his claim to be the best welterweight in the world last night at the venerable Boardwalk Hall. In a one-sided fight, the US-American forced the previously unbeaten Lithuanian Eimantas Stanionis (15-1, 9 knockouts) to retire after six dominant rounds. In the process, Ennis unified his IBF belt with the WBA title previously held by Stanionis.
The broadcast on DAZN showed a clear picture right from the start: Ennis dominated the action with explosive punching power and clever strategy. As early as the first round, the 26-year-old began with targeted body shots that increasingly put Stanionis under pressure. In rounds two and three, Ennis stepped up the pace and repeatedly landed heavy shots to the body, while Stanionis tried to find his way into the fight by counter-attacking.
Uppercuts break the last resistance
Shortly before the end of the third lap, the Lithuanian was able to complete a right straight, but was promptly punished by a left counterattack from Ennis. The resistance was broken in round six at the latest: A hail of left uppercuts sent Stanionis to the ground. Although he managed to survive, his corner had seen enough and ended the unequal duel.
“I felt like I could go to the body whenever I wanted,” Ennis explained in the DAZN interview after the fight. “He was a lot smaller and went down a lot. I had to adapt my strategy. In the end, I still found a way to get to the body effectively.”
Preliminary program: Ford and Giyasov convince
A former world champion was also in top form in the co-main event: Former WBA featherweight champion Raymond Ford (17-1-1, 8 knockouts) clearly dominated Thomas Mattice (22-5-1, 17 knockouts) over ten rounds and secured a unanimous points victory (3x 100-90). Ford controlled every moment of the fight and underlined his claim to another title shot.
Also successful was the unbeaten Uzbek Shakram Giyasov (17-0, 10 knockouts), who prevailed in a welterweight duel against the Argentinian Franco Maximiliano Ocampo (17-3, 8 knockouts). After a powerful start, Giyasov sent his opponent to the floor with a clear knockout in round four.