Lithuanian WBA welterweight “regular” champion Eimantas Stanionis has formally entered a period of free agency and stands poised to join any of the top promotional outfits currently around. With Stanionis having further made changes to his managerial team, the Lithuanian welterweight could be leading his career upwards after recently shaking off a bout of inactivity that lasted almost two years.
In recent years, Eimantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KO’s) had most closely been associated with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) under whose banner he has strictly fought since 2019. Tied to PBC through American manager Shelly Finkel―best known as the manager of Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KO’s), Stanionis managed to capture the World Boxing Association (WBA) “regular” welterweight (147 lbs) title in 2022, before defending it after a period of inactivity of more than two years. The Lithuanian oversaw a successful defense of his title against Venezuelan fighter Gabriel Maestre (6-1-1, 5 KO’s) this year on the May 4th card headlined by Canelo Alvarez and Jaime Munguia.
Following his split with Finkel and entry into free agency, Stanionis asserts he feels ready to forge a new path ahead for himself, potentially by managing himself going forward:
“I haven’t got a promoter now. I’m a free agent. I was fighting for a bit of freedom in my last fight. I just wanted to be free. I don’t have a manager as well. I think I’m going to manage myself now. I’ve got some experience after.”
FightsATW
Though there appears to be no specific promotion Stanionis has his eye on, a potential return to PBC is not out of the question given he seemed interested in facing recently-promoted WBC champion Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KO’s), who like Stanionis has been affiliated with PBC for roughly half a decade.
“I know the WBA doesn’t necessarily elevate you, like the WBC did with Mario Barrios. We will have to wait and see, but I don’t need to be elevated because I already think I am the world champion. Crawford is moving to 154, and [Errol] Spence is also moving to 154, but there should be some good unifications for me. Mario Barrios would be great! It would be top of the list at this moment.“
FightsATW
Realistically, Stanionis stands every chance of being promoted now that WBA “super” champion, Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KO’s) is set to compete at super welterweight (154 lbs) for Israil Madrimov’s (10-0-1, 7 KO’s) WBA title in that weight division, and is to vacate his WBA 147 lbs title either before or after his August 3rd match with Madrimov.
With Gervonta Davis (30-0, 28 KO’s) the latest WBA “regular” champion to have been elevated to world champion, there are few to no barriers that prevent Stanionis from being acknowledged as the sole WBA world champion of the division in the near future; presuming the confusing “regular” and “super” distinctions will be removed.
In a scenario where Stanionis would be acknowledged as the sole world champion, a fight with Barrios would naturally be considered a unification bout as it would involve two world titles. However, Stanionis has also entertained the idea of facing IBF welterweight champion Jaron Ennis (31-0, 28 KO’s), which could be another feasible unification fight if he were to join British-based promotional outfit Matchroom like Ennis himself did recently.
“147 pounds is heating up again. Maybe [Devin] Haney will move up, maybe [Isaac] “Pittbull” Cruz will move up…I don’t know, maybe Teofimo [Lopez] also. There is also [Jaron] Ennis. He’s talented, everyone is saying he’s the best right now. We all have two legs and two arms. He’s very good, but I’m the man, and I want to fight him. I want to prove anything is possible, even if I’m the big underdog.“
FightsATW
As an undefeated 29-year old fighter considered an elite combatant in his division, Stanionis must weigh his options carefully before finding himself in another period of inactivity that is not likely to be avoided if he chooses to stay with PBC. As PBC’s deal with Amazon Prime limits it to only holding pay-per-view (PPV) events, Stanionis wishes to fight Barrios might not even come to fruition given PBC’s notable failure to announce more shows this year; suggesting the company is on the brink of a possible collapse as Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn recently suggested.
