FIGHT WEEK
Vergil Ortiz will face Eimantas Stanionis and Jaron Ennis will take on Roiman Villa in a big weekend for top young welterweights.
VERGIL ORTIZ (19-0, 19 KOs) VS.
EIMANTAS STANIONIS (14-0, 9 KOs)
- Date: Saturday, July 8
- Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio
- TV/Stream: DAZN
- Division: Welterweight (147 pounds)
- At stake: No major titles
- Odds: Oritz 4-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Marlen Esparza vs. Gabriela Alaniz, flyweights (for Esparaza’s WBA and WBC titles); Floyd Schofield vs. Haskell Rhodes, lightweights; Joseph Diaz Jr. vs. Jerry Perez, lightweights
- Prediction: Ortiz UD
- Background: Ortiz and Stanionis will face their toughest tests to date when they meet Saturday in San Antonio. Ortiz, a hard-punching 25-year-old from Dallas, has stopped all 19 of his opponents but has struggled to lure top welterweights into the ring until now. And he hasn’t been particularly active because of health issues, having entered the ring only four times since 2019. He last fought this past August, stopping previously unbeaten Michael McKinson in nine rounds. Ortiz told Boxing Junkie that he’s 100% healthy for the first time in years. Stanionis is a well-schooled, rugged 28-year-old from Lithuania. He competed in the 2016 Olympics, getting eliminated in the second round. He also has been perfect as a professional, although he has relied more on his ability and resilience than his punching power. He’s coming off a hard-fought split-decision victory over previously unbeaten Radzhab Butaev in April of last year. That means he will have been out of the ring for almost 15 months. The fight on Saturday is for the WBA’s secondary “world” title, which Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize.
JARON ENNIS (30-0, 27 KOs)
VS. ROIMAN VILLA (26-1, 24 KOs)
- Date: Saturday, July 8
- Time: 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
- TV/Stream: Showtime
- Division: Welterweight (147 pounds)
- At stake: No major titles
- Odds: Ennis 8-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Edwin De Los Santos vs. Joseph Adorno, lightweights; Yoelvis Gomez vs. Marquis Taylor, junior middleweights
- Prediction: Ennis KO 8
- Background: The gifted Ennis is a pound-for-pound star in the making, in the opinion of many observers. He’s just waiting for his big opportunity. In the meantime he must get past solid opponents like Villa. Ennis reminds some of Roy Jones Jr., with a combination of speed and punching power that is off the charts. Ennis saw a knockout streak end at 19 fights (not counting a no-contest) in his most recent outing, a shutout decision over clever, but survival-minded Karen Chukhadzhian in January. The 26-year-old from Philadelphia believes he’s ready to take on the best in the division – including the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. winner – but he has no time table. He said he’ll be ready when the time comes. Villa is known primarily as a big puncher but he’s a good all-around fighter, as he proved by putting previously unbeaten contender Rashidi Ellis down twice in the final round and winning a majority decision in January. The break-through victory earned him a chance to face Ennis in the main event of nationally televised card, which is a major step for any fighter. He has won seven consecutive fights since losing a split decision to Marcos Villasana at 135 pounds in 2019, after which he moved up in weight.
ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK
FRIDAY
- Diego Pacheco vs. Manuel Gallegos, super middleweights, Monterrey, Mexico (DAZN)
SATURDAY
- Luis Nery vs. Froilan Saludar, junior featherweights, Metepec, Mexico (ESPN+)
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