While the red carpet has been rolled out for Jaron Ennis, Eimantas Stanionis has been pushed out of the spotlight and forced to go through the backdoor.
That’s the way the game goes, Stanionis understands it. Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) is the headliner, the show stopper, and the guy who most are coming to see. Stanionis though, is phlegmatic through it all. He doesn’t care that Ennis is getting the lion's share of the promotion for their April 12th showdown, which is being streamed by DAZN. The WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine world titles will be at stake.
Their upcoming unification is salient to Ennis. His future is incredibly bright and his goals are lofty, attainable but lofty. Stanionis, nevertheless, can’t wait to knock some sense back into the Philly star and bring him back down to reality.
“They are calling him a superstar but I’m in the way,” said Stanionis to Matchroom Boxing. “I want to f--- up all the plans.
Ennis has worked hard to reach the position he’s in today. For years, practically none of the top welterweight names appeared interested in fighting him. Even the IBF title he wears proudly on his shoulder was gifted to him, something he never wanted to accept.
But there’s a reason why most were apathetic when his name was brought up in conversations. Did you see what Ennis did to David Avanesyan? How about the highlight-reel knockout against Roiman Villa? Those instances instantly went viral but it also pushed him away from what he truly wanted...a real fight.
He’ll finally get that when he takes on Stanionis. In terms of the betting world, oddsmakers aren’t giving him much of a chance. Ultimately, being pugnacious and belligerent with them will get him nowhere.
Ennis is as good as it gets. Stanionis knows it. But as far as this invincible monster that they paint him out to be, Stanionis isn’t buying it.
“He’s a great fighter but we all have two legs, two hands, nobody’s unbeatable. I come to fight.”