While Lithuanian WBA “Regular” welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis is finally set to return to the ring after an absence of two years, the Lithuanian offered some thoughts on the welterweight division and gave his opinion on his view on the ongoing saga between unified welterweight champion Terence Crawford and IBF champion Jaron Ennis.
With Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KO’s) having recently activated his “WBO super champion” status to become the WBO mandatory at 154 lbs, the prospect of the American champion fighting at welterweight has dwindled substantially. However, a potential fight between Crawford and Jaron “Boots” Ennis (31-0, 28 KO’s) might still be on the cards following Ennis’ signing to Matchroom, which might open up new avenues for the two to fight―with Crawford’s current free agent status offering him some flexibility when it comes to the negotiating table.
Despite the intrigue of an undisputed welterweight fight between the two Americans―with Crawford and Ennis combined holding all of the four welterweight titles, Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KO’s) doubted whether Ennis had the following and standing within the sport to merit a fight with Terence Crawford―a sentiment echoed by Crawford’s trainer Brian “BoMac” McIntyre last year who had felt Ennis did not deserve a fight with Crawford.
“[Terence[ Crawford is the man, he beat the man, you know, so he can do whatever he wants,” Stanionis told boxing media outlet MillCity Boxing.
“Of course it’s a big risk, fighting ‘Boots’ [Jaron Ennis]. At this stage, he’s [Crawford] looking for bigger fights. So, looking from that side, yeah―Ennis hasn’t done anything to offer [anything] to Crawford, like a big fight or something.“
The notion from McIntyre that Jaron Ennis does not deserve to fight Terence Crawford may stem from the fact that Ennis was promoted to champion rather than becoming so through a fight. Ennis has yet to actually compete since he was granted the IBF title in November of last year, and the lack of fights he has had has only caused his career to stagnate.
With Jaron Ennis having signed to Matchroom, his career may gain a significant revival with the UK-based promotion able to offer him connections to potential money-spinning fights in Saudi Arabia through the GEA and Turki Al-Sheikh, while there is also a large chance that Ennis could feature on his own pay-per-view events depending on the popularity of his opponents.
However, just as Eimantas Stanionis mentioned, Terence Crawford is looking for bigger fights; particularly a match with undisputed 168 lbs champion Canelo Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KO’s). There are also appear to be bigger fights than Ennis lurking for Crawford at 154 lbs, with WBC & WBO champion Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KO’s) in particular expected to provide Crawford with a decently-regarded “big fight”―depending on how their potential bout would be promoted.
With Jaron Ennis’ current popularity likely not garnering enough views and buys for Crawford to fight him, even if he could become undisputed for an unprecedented third time of his career, Ennis would need a couple of big fights to garner the attention of Crawford.
Fortunately for Jaron Ennis, Eimantas Stanionis might be a possible suitable match for the IBF welterweight champion to grow his reputation with; and Stanionis himself believed there were few barriers between him and Ennis to prevent a potential fight.
“Fighters have to be willing to fight, I think that’s the most important thing,” Stanionis said. “Don’t overprice yourself. It has to make sense. Everybody has their pie to share, and [then] everything will be great.“
Eimantas Stanionis is currently set to fight on the undercard of the Alvarez-Munguia event which will be held on May 4th during the annual “Cinco de Mayo” celebrations. The Lithuanian will be defending his WBA “Regular” welterweight title against the #4 WBA-rated Venezuelan contender Gabriel Maestre (6-0-1, 5 KO’s).
