Jaron “Boots” Ennis defeated Eimantas Stanionis by TKO sixth round to unite IBF and WBA welterweight titles on Saturday evening at Atlantic City, Novel Jersey. It was a showdown between the two best ESPN welterweight weight.
Ennis, the IBF champion entering the fight, used the body attack to break up Stanionis. He used his stab to open a stanionis and forced him to pay with the lend a hand of the body.
Stanionis began the fight by attacking and found a good counter in the first round, while Ennis used his main stab for most of the round and mixed some good blows. Stanionis landed in third place, but Ennis bounced to the fourth, landing more blows and using a very correct stab that bleeds from the nose of Stanionis.
In the sixth Ennis he still landed and used angles to connect to the body. Stanionis hit with a tow truck that forced Stanionis to his knee. The round ended, but the coach of Stanionis, Marvin Somodio, stopped fighting before starting the seventh.
“I feel that I’m just entering Groove, I started to relax,” said Ennis after the fight. “I had fun and my dad told me:” Just press, you’ll stop him. ” And the madness I had a dream that I intend to keep him in the seventh round.
Ennis added: “The biggest part was that I had fun, being myself and I have live before me. I introduced the program, played well, used speed, power, defense. I showed you some game in the game.”
Ennis was not perfect. Only 19% of his total blows to Stanionis landed 31%, but he gained Stanionis 23-9 in the blows of power.
Ennis (34-0, 30 KO) performed the third defense of his belt. He defeated Karen Chukhadzhian by a unanimous decision in November, when he dropped Chukhadzhian in round 5 and won with the result 119-107, 117-109 and 116-110. Ennis defeated Chukhadzhiana earlier in January 2023, winning each round on the results of the results of all three judges.
Ennis has won six of the last eight fights throughout, including Ko wins on Sergey Lipinets, Thomas Dulorme, Roiman Villa and David Avaneyan.
Stanionis (15-1, 9 KO) was a “ordinary” welterweight champion, and then raised to the full master when Terence Crawford moved to the junior medium weight to face Israil Madrimov in August 2024. Stanionis did not fight in 2023 after the fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr.
This was the first professional failure of Stanionis.
“I will enjoy victory, enjoy these lanes,” said Ennis about his future. “I’ll talk to the band and see what will happen next.”
In the Co-Main event Raymond Ford (17-1-1, 8 KO), he dominated Thomas Mattice (22-5-1, 17 KO) in a unanimous decision victory. All three judges won the 100-90 fight. This was Ford’s second victory since he raised his weight to Junior Lightweight, after defeat in a fraction with Nick Ball in June 2024.
“He was a solid opponent,” Ford said after the fight. “He was really wise. I wanted to stop, knockout. These were the times when I sometimes hurt him, and let him catch me. He was a wise veteran.”
Ford said that he would like his next fight to be against Eduardo Nunez, who will face Masanori Rikiishi to obtain the free title Lightweight IBF Junior on May 28 in Japan.
“I said [promoter] Eddie [Hearn] This. I told my team. [Nunez] He knows that I want this fight – said Ford. “It depends on him if he wants to fight me. This is a real question. So I hope that he goes there and does his things, restore this belt so that we can wear it.”
“My next fight will definitely be under a credible name, bigger than Jamaine Ortiz,” Keyshawn told Fight Hub TV.
Since stopping Jamaine Ortiz in the 12th round on January 31 at Madison Square Garden, Keyshawn has been openly calling for bigger fights. He has mentioned names from junior welterweights and welterweights in interviews and on social media, including Devin Haney, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, Richardson Hitchins, Lewis Crocker and Lamont Roach Jr.
These challenges followed a performance that Keyshawn pointed to as evidence that he was among the top contenders. He dropped and stopped Ortiz in a fight where several previous opponents had gone the distance against a hard-wearing opponent. Now Keyshawn says the next step will take him to a welterweight title shot.
“I think I’m on the rise,” Keyshawn said when asked about the importance of his next fight, confirming plans to compete at 147 pounds and indicating the fight will be for the world championship.
Keyshawn did not name his opponent, but hinted that the fight would be a step up from his last fight. He also said that discussions about this fight have already taken place and that his return could come sooner than many expect.
A move up to welterweight would place Keyshawn in one of boxing’s most competitive divisions, with several established fighters already competing for title opportunities and championship fights receiving constant attention.
One possible opponent at 147 pounds is IBF champion Lewis Crocker, who Keyshawn mentioned when discussing future fights. Keyshawn has previously said he would be willing to head to the UK to challenge Crocker if a title opportunity arises. No agreement has been announced, but a fight has emerged as one potential path if the fighter wins the welterweight title outright.
For now, Keyshawn says preparations for his return are already underway as talks continue for a world title fight.
Robert Segal is a boxing reporter at Boxing News 24 with over a decade of experience covering fight news, previews and analysis. Known for his first-hand reporting and in-ring perspective, he delivers authoritative coverage of champions, challengers and emerging talent from around the world.
Canelo Alvarez talked about how long he could stay in the sport before hanging up his gloves and opting for a decorated career.
The 35-year-old is already destined for a place in the Hall of Fame, as he became a four-division world champion, but he still wants to compete at the highest level.
Since his professional debut in 2005, the Mexican has made 68 appearances and has twice become the undisputed king of the 168-pound division, scoring notable victories over the likes of Callum Smith and Caleb Plant.
More controversial was their first meeting a year earlier, when many felt Golovkin had done enough to claim a convincing victory and the Kazakhstan ended in a draw.
Still, Canelo received plenty of credit for his follow-up triumph before dethroning Sergei Kovalev to capture the WBO featherlight heavyweight title over a year later.
Alvarez’s second undisputed super middleweight reign came to an end last September when Terence Crawford moved up two weight classes and won a unanimous decision.
But Canelo explained anyway Froch About the fight that he can still compete for another two years, maybe even longer, depending on how often his opportunities come along.
“I don’t know. I think maybe two years. I don’t need it, [but] I still enjoy it. If I [fight] maybe once a year [I can go on] a little bit [longer].
“Once a year to rest my body, I think I can fight more [than two years]”
Although an official announcement has not yet been made, Canelo is scheduled to fight in Riyad, Saudi Arabia this September, and Turki Alalshikh has promised to fight for the world title.
Boxing’s worst kept secret has now been confirmed – Naoya Inoue (32-0, 27 KO) and Junto Nakatani (32-0, 24 KO) will meet on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome for Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight championship.
The all-Japan clash was formally announced at a press conference in Japan. The fight will be broadcast live on Lemino pay-per-view; US distribution rights have not yet been announced.
Inoue – ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer – is coming off an impressive 2025 in which he competed four times, defeating Kim Ye-Joon, Ramon Cardenas, Murodjon Akhmadaliev and David Picasso. Thanks to Inoue’s unanimous decision victory over Picasso in December, Nakatani defeated Sebastian Hernandez in the second fight of the night in a tougher-than-expected fight. Their victories set up a long-awaited clash between two of Japan’s best players.
Nakatani is ranked No. 6 pound-for-pound by ESPN and will look to become a four-division champion after winning world titles at bantamweight, junior bantamweight and flyweight. Although Nakatani narrowly won his junior featherweight debut in a grueling fight against Hernandez, Nakatani proved he was one of the best fighters in the world and had a powerful showing in 2025, winning 3-0.
The Undercard will feature Inoue’s younger brother Takuma defending his WBC bantamweight title against former four-division titleholder Kazuto Ioka.
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