By Adam Baskin: WBA ‘common’ welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis will defend his secondary belt in opposition to challenger Vergil Ortiz Jr of their rescheduled date of April twenty ninth in Texas.
The 2 had been scheduled beforehand to satisfy on March 18th, however the 29-year-old Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) wanted an emergency process for an appendectomy in his dwelling nation of Lithuania in early January, ensuing within the combat with Vergil needing to be pushed again to April.
It’s hoped Stanionis gained’t want further time to return from the operation as a result of that might push the combat again even additional to Might or June. When the match does ultimately occur, the winner will both face WBA welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr or be elevated to the complete championship stadium if he refuses to combat them or opts to vacate.
The 24-year-old Ortiz will face the largest take a look at of his seven-year skilled profession by going through the hard-hitting Stanionis for his secondary WBA belt.
To make certain, Ortiz has taken criticism from boxing followers who imagine he may have fought Spence or WBO champion Terence Crawford for his or her titles however as an alternative goes for the arguably softer goal of Stanionis.
Moreover, Ortiz may have fought Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis however went for the combat with Stanionis. It’s honest to say that the younger Ortiz Jr is being maneuvered as skillfully as a chess piece on a chessboard by his promoters at Golden Boy, who’ve stored him out of hurt’s means and are placing him in with a man that he has a greater than common probability of beating in Stanionis.
In the event that they threw Ortiz in with Spence, Crawford, or ‘Boots’ Ennis, it’s very possible that he would meet defeat for the primary time and would now not have an ideal document going for him.
“Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Eimantas Stanionis will meet in a rescheduled welterweight bout on April 29 in Texas,” mentioned Mike Coppinger to ESPN.
“The 147-pound matchup was set for March 18 however postponed after Stanionis underwent an emergency appendectomy in his native Lithuania earlier this month.”
Ortiz’s current wins:
Michael McKinsonMaurice HookerEgidijus Kavaliauskas
Ortiz was imagined to face the little-known British fighter McKinson final yr in March however suffered an sickness referred to as rhabdomyolysis, which some imagine was the results of the pressure on his physique making an attempt to get his weight all the way down to 147.
If Ortiz fails to beat Stanionis, he’ll have to sit down & watch for Spence & Crawford to vacate their belts and go after the strap that doesn’t contain him having to combat ‘Boots’ Ennis as a result of that’s a nasty match–up for him.
