Jaron Ennis added the WBA welterweight title to his IBF crown, as he forced Eimantas Stanionis to retire after six rounds of their unification bout at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) had been courting big fights for some time, and ‘Boots’ was last in action last November, where he defeated Karen Chukhadzhian on points in a rematch of their January 2023 meeting, that he also won on the cards.
Stanionis (15-1, 9 KOs) came into this one having only fought once in nearly three years. The Lithuanian was last seen last May, defending his WBA title against Gabriel Maestre, winning widely on the scorecards.
Ennis produced a dominant display here, and began off a superb jab in the opening round, switching stances to great effect too. The pair did exchange in the second, with Ennis getting the better of it, and the third saw the American make the first true breakthrough, a body shot in the final minute of the frame troubling Stanionis.
The visitor was showing eye damage as Ennis bossed yet another round in the fourth, and although he opened up in the fifth, landing with a duo of left hands, it then came at a cost as Ennis opened up himself to cause bleeding on the nose of Stanionis.
A round later saw Ennis go to work, as he teed off with whipping body shots, and after he added four straight uppercuts, Stanionis was finally felled, and badly hurt.
He beat the count, but at the end of the sixth round, his corner wisely saved him for another day, and retired their man from battle.
There was talk post-fight of Ennis fighting WBO champion Brian Norman Jr next, as Ennis seeks further unification.
DOWN GOES STANIONIS!!! 🤯😱#EnnisStanionis | LIVE NOW on DAZN pic.twitter.com/ysEq4aWTQk
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) April 13, 2025
Undercard recap
On the undercard, Ray Ford (17-1-1, 8 KOs) took a second fight at his new weight of super featherweight, and did as he pleased in a routine wide points win over Thomas Mattice (22-5-1, KO17) over a scheduled ten rounds. Ford dominated the contest, and that reflected in the scorecards, as he won every round of ten for all three judges.
Skakhram Giyasov (17-0, 10 KOs) could well be in the frame to take on Ennis in his next assignment, and the Uzbek welterweight enhanced his claims by taking a fourth-round win against against Argentina’s Franco Maximiliano Ocampo (17-3, 8 KOs). A straight right hand to the body did the damage, and Ocampo was unable to beat the referee’s count.
“I promised my Daughter I would be World Champion!” 🙏🇺🇿🥺
Shakhram Giyasov pays tribute to his late daughter following his win in Atlantic City tonight and eyes a World Title shot next.#GiyasovOcampo | @DAZNBoxing | #BootsStanionis pic.twitter.com/BwGmYdUprR
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) April 13, 2025
Mexican talent Arturo Popoca (16-0-1, 9 KOs) remained unbeaten, and he left it until the eighth and final round to stop Edgar Joe Cortes (9-8-1, 1 KO) in their super bantamweight clash.
Tahmir Smalls (14-0, 10 KOs) needed just over a minute to see off Earl Bascome (13-2, 2 KOs) in their welterweight clash set for eight.
IT’S OVER! 😮
Omari Jones takes down William Jackson with a body shot 👀#EnnisStanionis | LIVE NOW on DAZN pic.twitter.com/5Kl59x0ADT
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) April 13, 2025
In six rounders, talented former Olympian Omari Jones (2-0, 2 KOs) continued his education, and took a first round knockout win at super welterweight against William Jackson (13-5-2, 5 KOs). Francisco Rodriguez (7-0, 7 KOs) continued his perfect record as he forced Naheem Parker (5-2, 2 KOs) to retire after three rounds at lightweight.
The sole four rounder came at super featherweight, where Zaquin Moses (3-0, 2 KOs) halted Alex Pallette (1-4, 1 KOs) in two rounds.
