THE career of Eimantas Stanionis has been a bit of a slow burn these past few years. He is probably known most for a bunch of fights that didn’t happen, against Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Apr 09 2025
The Lithuanian has grabbed a few quality scalps on his way to WBA welterweight title glory. Should he manage to topple IBF champion Jaron Ennis on Saturday evening, that will be his biggest victory to date. Let’s look at the best three so far.
Even though the Puerto Rican had seen better days, including four defeats on the record, he represented a neat next step into world-class for Stanionis. Dulorme had upset unbeaten prospect Terrel Williams, but Stanionis used his jab and conditioning to avoid a similar fate, outpointing Dulorme over 12.
Resuming his amateur rivalry with Stanionis, there were flashy patches of joy for Maestre, but the Venezuelan puncher could not maintain much across 12 rounds. Once again, Stanionis’ physical strength and conditioning allowed him to cross the finishing line. Eimantas had been absent from the ring for over two years, so this was a much-needed distance battle.
The biggest win on Stanionis’ record thus far came in 2022 when he engaged in 12 rounds of technical warfare with Russia’s Radzhab Butaev. The pair had shared the amateur ring twice, with Butaev winning both times, including a 2011 victory in Dublin’s City West.
Once hostilities resumed, this time in the pro game, ‘No Mercy’ Butaev arrived in good form, having snapped the undefeated record of Jamal James one fight previous. Stanionis got into his groove and got the job done. Although one judge scored it for Butaev, creating a split decision verdict.
