WBA welterweight champion Imantas Stanionis says Jaron 'Boots' Ennis' team never contacted his management when he chose to turn down an offer to move up to No. 154 to challenge Vergil Ortiz Jr. For the interim WBC title on the February 22 card in Riyadh. .
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom)
Do shoes evade uniformity?
Stanionis says it doesn't look good that IBF welterweight champion Butts (33-0, 29 KO) has chosen not to fight Virgil Jr. at 154 years old. He'd heard that Ennis wanted to stay at 147 and unify the division, so why didn't he do that? Doesn't he try to fight him in monotheism?
Stanionis says he hasn't been approached for a unification fight against Ennis, and now he's hearing that Butts might fight Teofimo Lopez next.
Stanionis asks what that says about Ennis. Potts, a Philadelphia native, turned down a Virgil Ortiz Jr. fight at 154, yet he's not looking to take unification fights at 147 either. This feeds into the beliefs that Potts's critics hold about him. They see him as risk-averse, lacking in ambition, and only interested in picking up winnable fights against Karen Chokhadjian, David Avanesyan, and Roiman Vela.
Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) says he will stay busy with his career and hopes to fight on the undercard of the Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach bout on March 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The event will be shown on PBC on Prime Video PPV.
“I'm targeting it and I hope so. So, we'll see,” said Imantas Stanionis. YSM Sports Media About wanting to fight on the undercard of the Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach on March 1.
“We're here to prove who's the best. I can fight at 140, 147, 154. It doesn't matter. Any three divisions. If I get the opportunity, I'll take it. I want to be a rebound fighter, like everyone fights every couple of months to spend months.”
“I wouldn't want to be in his shoes because after the (Karen Chokhadjian) fight, he said he might go to 154 for the right opponent. So, I think Virgil Ortiz was the right opponent.
Ennis reportedly turned down a career-high payday for the Virgil Jr. fight on February 22, and that makes him look even worse. If Potts were to stay at 147 and fight Teofimo Lopez at light welterweight instead of one of the champions, the entire reason for turning down the Virgil Jr. fight would go away. After that, it becomes clear to the fans that he lacks the courage to fight that battle for fear of losing.
Stanionis: “Ennis could have called”
“So, I don’t know what happened. Eddie (Hearn) also said they might go to 154 for a big fight: “When they got the offer (to fight Virgil Jr.), I don’t know what was in it,” Stanionis said of Ennis. From the outside, it doesn't look good.
“Yes, if he wants to stay at 147, I understand that, but looking from the fence, I appreciate it too. When (Ennis) didn't get into the fight (with Virgil), His people could have contacted us. I was going to jump. No one called us,“Boots promoter Ennis never approached his management about doing a unification fight,” Stanionis said of Boots promoter Ennis.
Hearn needs to show fans he is making offers to other welterweight champions to fight Potts because it doesn't look good that Stanionis says he has not been contacted by Ennis' team about the fight. Why would he lie about this?
If he says he hasn't been called, it shows that Potts is not interested in welterweight and is just staying at 147 to hide from the predators in the 154 division that would quickly ruin his career in the same way Tim Tszyu's career collapsed. , and lost his last two fights at junior middleweight.
“If he wants to stay at 147, he's supposed to fight other champions. I see with Teofimo they might fight. I don't know what's going on. If he's going to fight Teofimo, what does that tell you? That's not 147, you know?” Stanionis said.
