Jaron Ennis wanted that particular second. On Saturday evening in Atlantic Metropolis, he seized it with each fists.
The 27-year-old welterweight from Philadelphia, nicknamed Boots, systematically broke down Eimantas Stanionis with precision and pressure en path to a sixth-round TKO that unified the IBF and WBA titles and jolted the welterweight division again to life. In a weight class left unmoored after Terence Crawford’s dismantling of Errol Spence Jr almost two years in the past, this was its most vital battle since – and maybe the primary true spark of a brand new period.
For years, Ennis has been hailed as the way forward for the welterweight division: an elite expertise with uncommon bodily presents, energy in each palms, a excessive ring IQ and the form of adaptability that separates nice fighters from the remaining. Raised in Philadelphia’s Germantown part and a Golden Gloves gold medalist as an newbie, Ennis turned professional in 2016 and has constructed a loyal hometown following, headlining two straight playing cards on the Wells Fargo Middle final 12 months. However his most up-to-date outing, a sluggish rematch win over Karen Chukhadzhian, left critics unimpressed.
On Saturday evening, within the largest battle to hit Boardwalk Corridor in additional than a decade, it did. Ennis’s rise, like a lot of the 147lb panorama, was delayed whereas Crawford and Spence danced round their very own long-awaited showdown. Their eventual conflict in 2023 introduced closure however left the division scattered and fading. A revival felt overdue.
Saturday’s battle supplied simply that. It was probably the most significant welterweight bout since Crawford v Spence and the one one on the present calendar with actual consequence. WBC champion Mario Barrios and WBO titleholder Brian Norman Jr stay within the combine, however neither had the résumé or momentum of the lads within the ring in Atlantic Metropolis. Ennis and Stanionis have been one and two, charged with main the division ahead.
From the opening bell, Ennis boxed with authority – composed, imply and in complete management. He established the jab early, used it to interrupt Stanionis’ rhythm and repeatedly caught him stepping in. He, landed crisp mixtures and bloodied Stanionis’s nostril within the fifth spherical with depraved hooks and uppercuts. In response to CompuBox’s punch statistics, Ennis landed a fight-high 19 punches in spherical 5, 16 of them energy pictures.
Spherical six was the breaking level. After a measured begin, Ennis linked with two thudding physique pictures that folded Stanionis ahead – then unleashed a barrage upstairs that dropped the Lithuanian exhausting to the canvas. Stanionis beat the depend and made it out of the spherical, however he had nothing left.
Between rounds, Stanionis’ coach Marvin Somodio made the decision.
It was a dominant, one-sided efficiency – maybe the most effective of Ennis’s profession. He picked his spots to commerce, reset behind a jab, pivoted by angles and blended his assault to move and physique with medical intent. Stanionis stored coming, however Ennis by no means let the battle get shut.
It additionally marked a revival of types for Atlantic Metropolis, a one-time battle capital lengthy overshadowed by Las Vegas, New York and now Saudi Arabia. Boardwalk Corridor hadn’t hosted a significant title battle since Sergey Kovalev beat Bernard Hopkins in 2014. On Saturday, the outdated area pulsed once more.
Full report back to observe.
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