WBA Orders Eimantas Stanionis v Vergil Ortiz Jr Next!
According to ESPN sources, the WBA has ordered welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr (19-0, 19 KO’s) to fight Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KO’s). The two boxers and their teams will have 30 days to strike a deal before the match is sent to purse bid. This is a matchup that 3Kings Boxing recently reported as having a high likelihood of happening. Now, it is no longer speculation.
Golden Boy fighter Vergil Ortiz Jr has been making noise calling for big fights for some time. Despite his persistence, he has been unsuccessful in this endeavor. In his last match however, Ortiz Jr. took on and stopped Michael McKinson in the ninth round of their title eliminator.
The bout also marked the second defense of his secondary WBO International title. Ortiz originally captured the vacant title when he knocked out Maurice Hooker in the seventh round of their March 20, 2021 duel. Now, ranked #1 (WBA), #1 (WBO), #2 (WBC) and #3 (IBF), he has positioned himself for this shot at Stanionis.
THE REGULAR CHAMP IS HERE!
For his part, Lithuanian fighter Stanionis is not quite as well-known as Ortiz Jr to American audiences but he is the ‘regular’ WBA welterweight champion. He captured the belt from Radzhad Butaev by split decision in his last tour of duty. The victory was especially satisfying considering that Stanionis avenged amateur losses to Butaev as well as taking the title.
Despite his defeats to Butaev, Stanionis amassed an impressive amateur career. As a professional, he is still making his bones, but he already owns wins over well-known but well-weathered fighters Luiz Collazo and Thomas Dulorme. A win over Vergil Ortiz Jr would launch Stanionis’s career into a whole new stratosphere. Let’s just hope that everything goes smoothly between the two teams and a formal fight announcement is not long in the coming.
By: Bakari Simpson
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