FOLLOWING the expiration of his management contract and a two-year-long wait to make a maiden defence of his WBA welterweight title, Eimantas Stanionis still dreams of bringing big time boxing to his native Kaunas, a city with 300,000 residents in Lithuania.
Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) endured a torrid two years after a fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr continuously fell through. He became the WBA Regular champion with a split decision victory against Russia’s Radzhab Butaev in April 2022.
Former amateur adversary Gabriel Maestre took the call for Stanionis to finally defend his spoils, scoring a unanimous decision win on the Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez cs Jaime Munguia undercard this past Cinco de Mayo weekend in May.
The 29-year-old Lithuanian embarks on the next stage of his career unaffiliated, with his management contract ending with Shelly Finkel.
“I’ve always wanted to fight in Lithuania, so I am seriously looking at that right now,” Stanionis said in an exclusive interview with Boxing News. “It is a dream I will have to fulfil at some point, we will see. The fans deserve my fight in Lithuania because they have proven themselves to be real fans. They have been waking up at 3am or 4am to watch my fights in the US. I definitely owe them one.”
Lithuania’s population of 2.8 million is tiny compared to America’s 333.3 million inhabitants, so to bring any type of event to the country can be difficult.
Stanionis, the first fighter to win anything from his country in pro boxing, has spent the entirety of his career fighting in the USA with trainer Marvin Somodio. A European Gold medal followed by a showing at the 2016 Olympics secured his professional career across the Atlantic.
“It would be very nice because there has never really been any professional boxing in Lithuania,” Stanionis explained. “There have been a few shows some years ago, but nothing really, the odd show from time to time. There has never been anything like a world title fight or someone fighting to get a shot at a title, so it would be great to make it happen. There are a lot of options, it might not happen in my next fight, but it has to happen.
“I have a lot of options right now after a very tough period in my career, so I’m happy. It’s been hard with the fights falling through at the last minute. I don’t live in America, I only train there, I live in Kaunas. It costs a lot of money to do these camps. I had two years of training in the US with no fight. I love this sport but I just couldn’t perform for two years.”
Stanionis’ profile has exploded in his homeland despite the more than two-year lay-off. With fellow welterweight champions Mario Barrios (WBC) and Jason Ennis (IBF) unlikely to take the chance to fight in the Kaunas, who would?
Believe it or not, Lithuania’s only other elite boxer comes from the same city and also fights at 147 pounds. Former world title challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas, currently ranked at No.4 by the WBC, could provide a night the country will never forget?
“It would be really good for Lithuania and the fans would love it,” Stanionis answered with a slight laugh. “I just don’t want to say it because if I say I want to fight him, he might think ‘this kid is cocky’ or something like that.
“Basically, we are from the same town and we know each other, it would be strange for me to call him out. If it happens it happens.
“It’s been kinda crazy recently. It’s hard to go anywhere, every time I go out people are taking pictures of me. To be honest with you, I like the quiet life. I have to go and see a lot of fans, do sponsorship stuff, I’m always having to do something. It’s very busy when I am in Lithuania these days, it wasn’t so busy before I became world champion. I get a bit tired of it sometimes.”
The 20,000 capacity Žalgiris Arena, home to the fearsomely supported Basketball Club Žalgiris, would be the likely destination for Stanionis’ dream return to Kaunas. However, Terence Crawford’s move to super-welterweight makes 147 pounds harder to predict. With the vast majority of the weight class plying their trade Stateside, it’s highly probable that his next fight will also take place in America.
“I understand this business a little bit more after all these years,” Stanionis added. “I’ve got good people advising me for the next step, but I’ll be managing myself. Crawford has already moved to 154 pounds, Errol Spence is also moving up to 154. The WBA could have me fight someone for the title, nobody is too sure.
“The unification fights with Mario Barrios and Jaron Ennis would be great, they have fights, but things change quickly. Fighters are moving up, [Isaac] Pitbull Cruz would be a great fight. Welterweight has always been a good division in boxing, I think it’s really heating up again.”
