New King at Welterweight: Jaron Ennis Dismantles Stanionis

By William Dumoulin
Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing

Ever since Terence Crawford vacated the welterweight division, boxing’s 147-pound class had been waiting for its next big star. On Saturday night, live from Atlantic City, that star may have officially arrived. Jaron “Boots” Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) delivered a commanding performance against Eimantas Stanionis (15-1, 9 KOs), staking his claim as the division’s new king.

From the opening bell, Ennis controlled the action with a sharp, accurate jab, mixing in head and body shots while Stanionis moved forward but failed to let his hands go. As the rounds wore on, Ennis—still working off that active jab—gradually turned up the heat, threading uppercuts and ripping body hooks to break down Stanionis’s high guard. The Lithuanian did manage to land a few counter left hooks, but never came close to troubling “Boots.”

The skill gap became glaringly obvious by round five. Ennis was flowing, stringing together crisp combinations and landing clean, punishing shots while Stanionis struggled to respond. In the sixth, Ennis’s relentless work finally paid off. A brutal sequence of uppercuts floored Stanionis, and his corner threw in the towel before the seventh could begin.

With the emphatic win, Ennis added the WBA title and The Ring Magazine belt—awarded to the division’s lineal champion—to his collection, while retaining his IBF crown. The dominant showing cements his place among boxing’s pound-for-pound elite.

Looking ahead, the only compelling matchups left at welterweight are unification bouts against the other two titleholders: Mario Barrios (WBC) and Brian Norman Jr. (WBO). Otherwise, a jump to 154 pounds for a high-stakes showdown with Vergil Ortiz Jr. could be an enticing next step for the new ruler of the welterweight division.