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Jaron Ennis vs Eimantas Stanionis Keys to Victory: Breaking down tactics of each fighter
Jaron Ennis, one of the most exciting boxers that the sport has to offer, returns to the ring in hot pursuit for the first title unification of his career.
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That will be the scene Saturday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and live on DAZN, when IBF welterweight world champion Ennis clashes with WBA titleholder Eimantas Stanionis.
Ennis (33-0 with 1 no contest, 29 knockouts) is coming off his third title defense via a unanimous decision over Karen Chukhadzhian in November.
The rugged Stanionis (15-0 with 1 no contest, 9 KOs) delivered a unanimous decision of his own by defeating Gabriel Maestre prior to that in May.
Will 'Boots' Ennis capture the unified welterweight world crown with a rousing performance? Or will Stanionis make good on his promise to upset those plans, while handing Ennis his first pro loss?
With the stakes riding ultra high, DAZN News analyzes the keys to victory, breaking down the tactics of each fighter.
Jaron Ennis’ keys to victory
Jab to the body early
Despite losing to Stanionis by unanimous decision in May, Gabriel Maestre might have exposed a vulnerability of the Lithuanian fighter by depositing body shots that seemed to affect the champ.
Ennis’ all-encompassing boxing skills includes a smooth, but potent jab to the body that 'Boots' gets low to deliver with impact and within the flow of his offense.
Doing this could impede the pressure that Stanionis is vowing to deliver.
Switch stances often
From orthodox to southpaw, Ennis is able to switch stances at will whenever a certain read gives him a reason to.
Showing Stanionis these different looks could go long ways toward the slick Philadelphia fighter throwing the Lithuanian off his game, while allowing Ennis’ own otherworldly sweet science skills to take over.
Counterpunch in traffic, time uppercut
On his quest to break Ennis and become a unified welterweight world champion, Stanionis is likely going to stand in the pocket and rely on an uptick of punches.
That gives Ennis the opportunity to counterpunch in traffic — something that he already does brilliantly.
Also, Stanionis’ penchant for hunching his shoulders and lowering his head while looking to pump out offense paves the way for Ennis to launch a fight-changing or bout-ending uppercut.
Team Ennnis predicted a knockout during the final fight press conference and this could very well be the punch that does it.
Eimantas Stanionis’ keys to victory
Bring the pressure
Stanionis has promised to “break” Ennis and halt the undefeated Philadelphia fighter’s ascension into boxing orbit.
The WBA (Regular) welterweight world champion is naturally a pressure fighter and he should count on that forward, walking down progress in the phone booth to assert his will against the IBF titleholder.
Turn up the volume
Part of pressuring Ennis has to include Stanionis turning up his punch output and letting his hands truly fly.
Where Ennis is more creative, cunning and calculating, Stanionis must be more free, flooding and persistent.
This way, he might be able to land the kind of punches that damage Ennis or sway judges in the case this bout goes the distance.
Do not get reckless
In opening up his offense and pressuring with volume, Stanionis must make sure that he stays composed and does not get reckless.
One mistake, whether it be hunching his shoulders a bit too much or not anticipating a counterpunch, could spell doom for the Lithuanian as Ennis is too precise and clean of a boxer to miss an opportunity.
So pressuring while detonating a steady stream of punches is fine as long as Stanionis is smart and compact about it.
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