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Eimantas Stanionis to return Sept. 27 vs. Jabulani Makhense
Ring Magazine
ARTICLE
Manouk Akopyan
Manouk Akopyan
RingMagazine.com
Eimantas Stanionis to return Sept. 27 vs. Jabulani Makhense
Former WBA welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis is ready to kick off his comeback campaign.

Stanionis (15-1, 9 KOs) will face Jabulani Makhense (16-2, 8 KOs) on Sept. 27 in a homecoming fight at Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania. The 10-round fight was announced Tuesday at a catchweight of 150 pounds.

The occasion will mark the first time Stanionis, a 2016 Lithuanian Olympian, has fought on home soil as a professional.




Stanionis is looking to get back into the win column after his first career loss, a sixth-round stoppage against Jaron Ennis in a welterweight title unification fight in April. Ennis came in as the IBF champion and walked away with the vacant Ring title and Stanionis' WBA belt, as well.

The one-sided beating ended when Ennis knocked Stanionis down in the sixth, forcing his corner to stop the fight.

Despite the setback, Stanionis is still ranked No. 2 by The Ring at 147 pounds, behind only WBO champion Brian Norman Jr.

The unknown Makhense is a 32-year-old from South Africa who has fought all but one of his fights in his home country over his nine-year career.

Stanionis will be fighting twice in the same calendar year for the first time since 2021. It’s a welcome development for the 30-year-old, who told The Ring before the Ennis fight that he gets “crazy and depressed with demons when he’s not fighting.”

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan


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