Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis crushes Eimantas Stanionis to unify welterweight titles

Jaron Ennis needed that special moment. On Saturday night in Atlantic City, he seized it with both fists. The 27-year-old welterweight from Philadelphia, nicknamed Boots, systematically broke down Eimantas Stanionis with precision and force en route to a sixth-round TKO that unified the IBF and WBA titles and jolted the welterweight division back to life. In a weight class left unmoored after Terence Crawford’s dismantling of Errol Spence Jr nearly two years ago, this was its most significant fight since – and perhaps the first true spark of a new era. For years, Ennis has been hailed as the future of the welterweight division: an elite talent with rare physical gifts, power in both hands, a high ring IQ and the kind of adaptability that separates great fighters from the rest. Raised in the city’s Germantown section and a Golden Gloves champion as an amateur, Ennis turned pro in 2016 and has built a loyal hometown following, headlining two straight cards at the Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center last year. But his most recent outing, a sluggish rematch win over Karen Chukhadzhian, left critics unimpressed. On Saturday night, in the biggest fight to hit Boardwalk Hall in more than a decade, it did. Ennis’s rise, like much of the 147lb landscape, was delayed while Crawford and Spence danced around their own long-awaited showdown. Their eventual clash in 2023 brought closure but left the division scattered and fading. A revival felt overdue. Saturday’s fight offered just that. It was the most meaningful 147lb bout since Crawford v Spence and the only one on the current schedule with real consequence. WBC champion Mario Barrios and WBO titleholder Brian Norman Jr remain in the mix, but neither had the résumé or momentum of the men in the ring in Atlantic City. Ennis and Stanionis were one and two, charged with leading the division forward. From the opening bell, Ennis boxed with authority – composed, mean and in total control. He established the jab early, used it to break Stanionis’ rhythm and repeatedly caught him stepping in. He landed crisp combinations and bloodied Stanionis’s nose in the fifth round with punishing hooks and uppercuts. According to Compubox’s punch statistics, Ennis landed a fight-high 19 punches in round five, 16 of them power shots. Round six was the breaking point. After a measured start, Ennis connected with two thudding body shots that folded Stanionis forward, then unleashed a barrage upstairs that dropped the Lithuanian hard to the canvas. Stanionis beat the count and made it out of the round, but he had nothing left. Between rounds, Stanionis’ trainer Marvin Somodio made the call. It was a dominant and one-sided performance, perhaps the best of Ennis’s career given the caliber of opposition. He picked his spots to trade, reset behind a jab, pivoted through angles and mixed his attack to head and body with clinical intent. Stanionis kept coming, but Ennis never let the fight get close. It also marked a revival of sorts for Atlantic City, a one-time fight capital long overshadowed by Las Vegas, New York and now Saudi Arabia. Boardwalk Hall hadn’t hosted a major title fight since Sergey Kovalev beat Bernard Hopkins in 2014. On Saturday, the old arena pulsed again.