Eimantis Stanionis is being screwed over big time by the WBA and PBC.
He's been stepping aside for money so Errol Spence could unify. But was guaranteed and promised his shot at Spences real title next.
But now hes not getting his shot at Spence, and has to defend his regular title again in a tough fight against Vergil Ortiz. And it'll be on his opponents promoters show as they won the purse bid.
(Remember Stanionis stepped aside as mandatory so Ugas could face Spence, instead of facing Ugas he had to face the tougher Radzhab Butaev for the regular title. Then he stepped aside for Spence-Crawford but that isn't even happening and Spence is facing Thurman now. Unbelievably corrupt how Stanionis still isn't getting his shot)
Yep he is going after Oscar's regional cash cow and will either need to knock out Ortiz or beat him from pillar to post. He will have a lot of green backs jingling in his pants pocket as the total purse to be split is 2million+ but if he doesn't win that could be the high point of his career pay wise.
There is a road to victory as Ortiz had weight issues in the past where he was in the early stages of organ failure and had to cancel a fight. Usually when this happens a fighter will move up a division or two but Ortiz must have hired a dietician and must not have let his weight balloon up as much in between fights. Also Stanios has more experience at the fringe world level than Ortiz which could tell in a tight fight.
PS Arslanbek Makhmudov weighed in for his showcase fight against Michael Wallisch at 265 and change. I hope this is the end of this level of opponent as opponents like this are now a waste of time for the Russian prospect. He needs a live body or another wily veteran type like a Chisora.
This card will be televised on ESPN+ in the United States.
PS 2 Lucas Browne was supposed to fight Mahmoud Charr in the middle east this weekend but the fight was cancelled due to the promoter suddenly not having the funds to back the show. In the past many big name promoters were reluctant to field offers from this part of the world as many flim flam artists seemed to want to put on cards with the biggest stars but had the financial solvency of Bernie Madoff. Things have only changed because the Saudi government and other Arab oil states has backed some big fights and other world sporting events for promoting their nation as a business and entertainment destination.
https://fightnews.com/weights-from-shawinigan-quebec/141987
PS 3 The big Russian blew out his German opponent in the first round with a corner surrender at the end of the first round. His German opponent wasn't there to do much but cover up and get banged around. Two knockdowns occurred but he also lost a point for rabbit punching. I noticed that there were openings for uppercuts but he seemed to want to punch the German around the temples that led to rabbit punches as the German went into a turtle shell.
There needs to be work done in the gym as Makhmudov would be similar to a mechanic working without all of the wrenches he needs to fix your car. This technique won't work against Fury and probably not Usyk(unless he caught him clean). Even next level heavyweights like Wilder and Joshua could in theory exploit this flaw in his technique.
www.mmamania.com
