Latest news with #WorldWelterweight
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Philly's favorite boxer 'Boots' Ennis is bringing a big-time bout back to Atlantic City
FILE - Eimantas Stanionis, from Lithuania, squares off against Radzhab Butaev, from Russia, during a WBA world welterweight championship undercard fight Saturday, April 16, 2022, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter, File) FILE - Floyd Mayweather Jr., right, of Las Vegas, Nev., hits Arturo Gatti of Jersey City, N. J., during the second round of their WBO World Super Lightweight title bout at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall Saturday, June 25, 2005 in Atlantic City, N.J.. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File) FILE - Jaron Ennis gestures after defeating Karen Chukhadzhian in an IBF World Welterweight title bout Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File) FILE - Jaron Ennis gestures after defeating Karen Chukhadzhian in an IBF World Welterweight title bout Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File) FILE - Eimantas Stanionis, from Lithuania, squares off against Radzhab Butaev, from Russia, during a WBA world welterweight championship undercard fight Saturday, April 16, 2022, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter, File) FILE - Floyd Mayweather Jr., right, of Las Vegas, Nev., hits Arturo Gatti of Jersey City, N. J., during the second round of their WBO World Super Lightweight title bout at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall Saturday, June 25, 2005 in Atlantic City, N.J.. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File) FILE - Jaron Ennis gestures after defeating Karen Chukhadzhian in an IBF World Welterweight title bout Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File) ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Jaron Ennis noted one of his all-time favorite fights was the night Floyd Mayweather Jr. absolutely destroyed Arturo Gatti in a 2005 clash at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall. 'Boots' Ennis called Mayweather's decisive win a bit of an inspiration ahead of his own title fight Saturday night in the same venue. Advertisement 'I'm going to try and put on a historic performance just like that,' Ennis said. After two straight title defenses in his Philadelphia hometown, Ennis (33-0 29 KOs) defends his share of the 147-pound championship against Lithuanian fighter Eimantas Stanionis in the biggest fight to headline Boardwalk Hall in more than a decade. The 27-year-old Ennis has won seven straight fights overall and made three straight successful title defense since he defeated Ukrainian fighter Karen Chukhadzhian for the championship in January 2023. Stanionis, though not as highly regarded as a fighter as Ennis, has own share of the welterweight championship among the convoluted alphabet organizations that run boxing. 'You will get the fight of the year,' Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said, with the usual hubris of any boxing promoter, 'and you will get it back at Atlantic City. At the historic Boardwalk Hall. This venue is iconic with huge fights, with huge names.' Advertisement Sure, rattle off the names and fights that once headlined cards in Atlantic City — Mike Tyson, George Foreman and Evander Holyfield, for starters — and Hearn isn't wrong about the city's proud spot in boxing history. The problem is, all those great knockouts and can't-miss pay-per-view fights are in the distant past as Atlantic City faded as a fight night destination. Boardwalk Hall hasn't held a major title fight since Sergey Kovalev beat Bernard Hopkins on Nov. 8, 2014, in a light heavyweight championship bout. Eleider Alvarez beat Kovalev and won the 175-pound championship by knockout at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in 2018 in what can be generously described as the last big-time bout in Atlantic City. As Atlantic City casinos withered over the last dozen or so years, so did interest in hosting boxing cards. T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center in New York host some of the biggest domestic cards while the true headline bouts — topped by Tyson Fury's win over Francis Ngannou in October 2023 — are held in Saudi Arabia. Celebrity bouts such as Jake Paul's win over a 58-year-old Tyson have become the rage and can pack 70,000 fans inside a football stadium, a number that crushes what Hearn expected would be a sellout crowd of 10,000 fans on Saturday night. Advertisement Mixed martial arts global leader UFC not only surpassed boxing as a weekend fight attraction, CEO Dana White is set to run a new boxing promotion as part of a business deal with Saudi Arabia. The first TKO Group boxing card will be held in 2026. Atlantic City has latched on to Ennis to try and raise a boxing revival in the city. Ennis was raised in the Germantown section of Philadelphia and was a Golden Gloves gold medalist as an amateur. He made his pro debut in 2016. Ennis headlined a card in July that attracted a surprising 14,119 fans to the Wells Fargo Center and his next bout in November at the home of the Flyers and 76ers saw that number dip to about 10,000 fans at the fight. Advertisement His last two fights were rather lackluster efforts, including a unanimous decision win in the November rematch over Chukhadzhian. 'I felt it was an OK performance,' Ennis said after the fight. OK isn't good enough for a fighter who has been vocal about wanting to fight Errol Spence Jr. or Terence Crawford. He'd also like a shot at Canelo Alvarez. Ennis also hasn't ruled out a move up in weight class to 154 pounds. 'Boots never went to another level yet,' his father and trainer Boozy Ennis said. 'I hope Stanionis can bring it out of him. That's what I'm waiting on. Then you'll see a different Boots.' Advertisement Ennis is at -600 to win, per BETMGM Sportsbook. Stanionis (15-0 9 KOs) has more than a championship to fight for on Saturday. His wife is pregnant and due any day — he guaranteed he would not leave Atlantic City until after the bout. Stanionis boasted against Ennis he would be 'all gas, no brakes.' 'He's going to run right into a rock,' Ennis said. ___ AP sports:
Forbes
10-04-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Ennis Vs. Stanionis Fight Card: Date, Time, How To Watch Or Stream
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 6: Jaron Ennis poses for photos during Media Day ahead of the ... More IBF welterweight title bout against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 6, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mark Robinson/) Jaron 'Boots' Ennis returns to the boxing ring on Saturday, April 12, to put his IBF welterweight title on the line against Eimantas Stanionis, who holds the WBA welterweight crown, which is also up for grabs. The winner of the matchup between two of the top 147-pound boxers in the world will walk away as a unified champion. Below is a look at the Ennis vs. Stanionis fight card date, time, location and how to watch or stream the Matchroom-promoted event. Saturday, April 12 Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ 8:00 p.m. ET DAZN Jaron Ennis vs. Eimantas Stanionis, 12 rounds, welterweight - IBF and WBA welterweight title unification Raymond Ford vs. Thomas Mattice, 10 rounds, super featherweight – WBA Continental North America title Omari Jones vs. William Jackson, 6 rounds, junior middleweight Arturo Popoca vs. Christian Carto, 10 rounds, super bantamweight - WBA Continental North America title Shakhram Giyasov vs. Franco Maximiliano Ocampo, 10 rounds, welterweight Tahmir Smalls vs. Earl Bascome, 8 rounds, welterweight Francisco Rodriguez vs. Naheem Parker, 6 rounds, lightweight Zaquin Moses vs. Alex Pallette, 4 rounds, junior lightweight PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 8: Jaron 'Boots' Ennis poses during the weigh in ahead of his ... More November 9th IBF World Welterweight title fight against Karen Chukhadzhian at 2300 Arena on November 8, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mark Robinson/) The 27-year-old Ennis (33-0-0-1 with 29 knockouts) won the vacant IBF interim welterweight crown in January 2023 with a unanimous decision victory over Karen Chukhadzhian. He retained that title in July 2023 with a 10th-round knockout win over Roiman Villa. Ennis was elevated to full champion status in November 2023 when the sanctioning body stripped Terence Crawford of the belt not long after Crawford unified the welterweight titles with a win over Errol Spence Jr. In his first defense of the IBF crown, Ennis defeated David Avanesyan when the fight was halted before the start of the sixth round. In his most recent outing, Ennis defeated Chukhadzhian by decision in a rematch in November 2024. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 04: Eimantas Stanionis celebrates after defeating Gabriel Maestre by ... More unanimous decision in their WBA welterweight championship title fight at T-Mobile Arena on May 04, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by) The 30-year-old Stanionis (15-0-0-1 with nine knockouts) won the WBA crown in April 2022 with a split-decision victory over Radzhab Butaev. Stanionis did not fight again until May 2024, after three fights against Vergil Ortiz Jr. were canceled. Stanionis was forced out of the first scheduled fight with Ortiz in early 2023 because of an emergency appendectomy. Ortiz withdrew from the rescheduled contest in March of that year because of rhabdomyolysis, a serious muscle condition. Then, in July, the fight was again scratched at the last minute because of dehydration. Stanionis defended his title in May 2024 with a unanimous decision win over Gabriel Maestre. ESPN has the two 147-pound competitors ranked at the top of the welterweight division, with Ennis at No. 1 and Stanionis at No. 2. 'I'm the best in the world in the Welterweight division,' Ennis said.' "Whatever he does, I do better. I don't think he's watched my fights; I never get tired. It's going to be a long night for him. It's my belt and his belt; it's time to Claim The Crown.' 'They are calling him a superstar but I'm in the way,' said Stanionis. 'I want to f--- up all the plans." 'He's a great fighter but we all have two legs, two hands, nobody's unbeatable. I come to fight.' RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - JUNE 01: Raymond Ford of Team Matchroom enters the ring prior to the during ... More the WBA World Featherweight Title fight between Raymond Ford of Team Matchroom and Nick Ball of Team Queensberry on the 5v5: Queensberry v Matchroom Fight Night card at Kingdom Arena on June 01, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by) Raymond Ford (16-1-1, 8 KOs) won the vacant WBA featherweight title in March 2024 with a TKO win over Otabek Kholmatov. Ford lost a split decision to Nick Ball in his first defense of that title. After his first career defeat, Ford moved up to super featherweight, beating Orlando Gonzalez by unanimous decision in a 10-round contest. In his second fight at 130 pounds, the 26-year-old from Camden, New Jersey, faces Mattice for the WBA Continental North America super featherweight title. ESPN has Ford ranked at No. 7 in the division. He is No. 6 according to the IBF, No. 5 with the WBA, No. 4 in the WBC rankings and No. 8 with the WBO. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 05: Thomas Mattice makes his entrance for a junior lightweight bout ... More against Luis Melendez at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on November 05, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by) Thomas Mattice (22-4-1 with 17 KOs), who fights out of Cleveland, Ohio, is coming off a loss in his last bout after an accidental headbutt left him unable to continue his September 2024 contest against Eduardo Hernandez. Mattice is unranked by the major sanctioning bodies and ESPN. I'm excited to fight in Atlantic City, it's pretty much a home fight for me so I'm going to do what I do best and put on a show,' said Ford. 'I know a lot of guys turned me down and it's been hard to get someone to take the fight. Credit to Mattice for stepping up but there's nobody at 130 pounds getting in my way. I'm coming for all the champions, and they can't keep running forever.' 'I'm super excited about the opportunity,' the 34-year-old Mattice said. 'I know buddy, but not personally but anyone that knows me, knows I'll scrap with whoever whenever, it's really easy with me. I'm looking forward to an action-packed fight with my hands being raised at the end #andthenew.' Ford is a -1300 betting favorite over Mattice, who is a +710 underdog according to FanDuel. Arturo Popoca (15-0-1 with 8 KOs) has had three decision wins in his past three fights, moving from a unanimous win over Ernesto Garcia in February 2024 to a majority decision over Danny Barrios in June to a split decision over Jesus Arechiga in his most recent outing in August. The 24-year-old from Sahuayo de Morelos, Michoacan, Mexico, last picked up a knockout in December 2023. Popoca holds the WBC Continental Americas super bantamweight crown. He has defended the title twice. Christian Carto (23-1 with 16 KOs) is riding a six-fight winning streak heading into Saturday's fight card. Carto, who fights out of Philadelphia, has knockout wins in his past three outings, most recently stopping Carlos Buitrago at the end of the third round in their July 2024 matchup. A big thank you to my team at RGBA and Matchroom for putting me on a such a great card,' said Popoca. 'I'm really excited to show the fans in Atlantic City what I can do in the ring. It's going to be a great night of boxing and I plan on stealing the show' "I'm looking forward to fighting in Atlantic City and proving my talent on DAZN,' said the 28-year-old Carto. 'I'm thankful to be fighting for a title and I'm ready for the opportunity!' We will have more on the Ennis Vs. Stanionis fight card, including updated betting odds, as fight night approaches. On fight night, we will have results, reactions and highlights for the full Ennis Vs. Stanionis fight card.
