Jaron Ennis (34-0, 30 KO’s) has become a unified champion for the first time of his career after soundly defeating Lithuanian opponent Eimantas Stanionis (15-1, 9 KO’s) in a unification bout at welterweight (147 lbs). The two fighters headlined a Matchroom card on Saturday, April 12th, at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Jaron Ennis vs. Eimantas Stanionis

With the two welterweight champions having undefeated records, their unification bout ― with Ennis in grasp of the IBF welterweight title while Stanionis had the WBA belt ― was a momentous occasion for both as they stepped into a high-stakes bout that would define their careers.

Contrary to what the result depicted, Stanionis was quite active on the front foot as he sought to pressure Ennis early on in a bid to exploit Ennis’ defense. Despite the aggressive yet controlled approach, this tactic would prove to heavily backfire as Ennis seemed to excel on the backfoot, waiting for Stanionis to come in and counter accordingly.

Despite Stanionis’ efforts, it was Ennis who threw the bulk of punches thrown, often forcing the Lithuanian fighter into a high guard that proved to have little effect when it came to sheer power. Stanionis was the more efficient fighter, landing more overall in percentages but did not have the same strength nor the activity to match Ennis.

It made for almost a one-sided fight as Stanionis refused to change strategies, wading in with the intent to hurt Ennis only to find himself brutally countered while Ennis himself took the opportunity to target Stanionis’ body. From that point, it was a mere gradual process for the American to properly break Stanionis down over the rounds, continuing to damage him to the body and the head.

Following the 6th round which featured Stanionis again refusing to deviate from his initial approach to find himself at the end of an onslaught of punches while his own appeared to do little damage, the Lithuanian fighter found himself knocked down after a combination that ended with an uppercut in the last 30 seconds of the fight.

With Stanionis’ corner realizing he was on his last legs, they stopped the fight after the round finished and Stanionis appeared to be in severe danger for the next round as the closing seconds saw him nearly get knocked down for the second time.

Jaron Ennis was announced the winner by corner retirement (RTD) afterwards, allowing him to a claim stupendous win in a unification bout that had been tipped to be evenly-sided but turned out to be a breakthrough match for Ennis. Ennis further gained the WBA welterweight title from Stanionis alongside his own IBF belt, becoming a unified champion for the first time of his career.

With one unification bout out of the way, another such match between Ennis and WBO 147 lbs champion Brian Norman Jr. (27-0, 21 KO’s) would be the most realistic to make given the latter only recently completed his own title defense. The two had been in negotiations last year and could potentially revisit their unification bout with three titles now set to be on the line rather than two ― plans that Ennis’ promoter, Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn, is also aiming for.

Undercard fights:

• At super featherweight (130 lbs), former featherweight (126 lbs) champion Raymond Ford (17-1-1, 8 KO’s) set out once more on the path towards world title contention as he faced fellow American Thomas Mattice (22-5-1, 17 KO’s) in his second fight at 130 lbs. Ford dominated the match over 10 rounds, winning every round 100-90 according to all three judges’ scorecards to carve out a unanimous decision (UD) win.

• At welterweight, Uzbek contender Shakhram Giyasov (17-0, 10 KO’s) also sought to continue his own world championship bid but faced an unranked contender in Argentinian fighter Franco Maximiliano Ocampo (17-3, 8 KO’s). As expected, Giyasov knocked Ocampo out in the 4th round of their 10-round fight but will likely not face any substantial upgrade in the 147-pound rankings as he continues to remain on the fringes of a world title opportunity following his victory over an insignificant opponent.