Eimantas Stanionis was elevated from secondary to full titlist after Terence Crawford moved to 154
Less than a month after upgrading him from “world” to “super” champion following Terence Crawford’s exit, the WBA has given welterweight titlist Eimantas Stanionis 30 days to negotiate with mandatory challenger Shakhram Giyasov.
Stanionis (15-0, 9 KO) has struggled to stay active these last few years, though that’s not entirely his fault. He lost quite a bit of time trying to stage a showdown with Vergil Ortiz, who withdrew from two of their three planned dates while Stanionis forced a one-month postponement of his own due to appendicitis. His first appearance since April 2022 saw him take a comfortable decision over Gabriel Maestre in May.
Aside from the likes of Bakhodir Jalolov and Hasanboy Dusmatov, whose slow professional advancement can be chalked up to their continued focus on amateur glory, Giyasov (16-0, 9 KO) has proven among the least ambitious members of the Uzbek invasion. He’s been treading water for ages, most recently scraping out a split decision over Miguel Parra in July.
Fighting Stanionis would be a long-overdue sink-or-swim test, though “Wonder Boy” could instead cash in his no. 1 spot with the WBO and challenge Brian Norman Jr instead. Should that occur, WBA no. 2 Conor Benn would presumably get the call because the WBA is and always will be the WBA.
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