Eimantas Stanionis v Vergil Ortiz Jr Headed to Dallas on March 18
It’s always a positive when top fighters within a division face each other. That will be the case
on March 18 when welterweight WBA ‘regular’ champion Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) fights WBA mandatory challenger Vergil Ortiz Jr (19-0, 19 KOs) on March 18. According to ESPN, the bout will take place in Ortiz’s backyard in Dallas, Texas.
As 3Kings Boxing previously reported, the WBA ordered this bout in November 2022. Ortiz’s promoters,
Golden Boy, won the purse bid in December 2022.
Stanionis has progressed under the radar of higher-profile fighters at 147, most notably unified champ
Errol Spence Jr and WBO champion Terence Crawford. He captured the WBA ‘regular’ title with a split-decision victory over Radzhab Butaev in April 2022.
Next up is Ortiz, who has been predicted for superstardom by many pundits since early in his career.
The mandatory challenger is coming off a ninth-round TKO over Michael McKinson in August 2022.
GOOD STYLE MATCHUP
On paper, Stanionis – Ortiz has the ingredients to be a highly-entertaining contest. Each prefers
to come forward and rarely takes a backward step. They throw a high volume of punches but have also shown defensive lapses. Viewers should be entertained for however long this bout lasts. The winner moves in line for a shot at unified 147 pound champion Spence.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
