After taking what he believes were the proper steps, Eimantas Stanionis is now banging his head against the wall as he’s run out of ideas.
Following his hard-fought win over Radzhab Butaev, there was an overwhelming belief that Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) would vault to the front of the championship line. However, the 28-year-old was left speechless as his title dreams were seemingly put on pause.
With the WBA sanctioning body ordering their secondary title holder to defend his crown against Vergil Ortiz Jr., all signs are now pointing to Errol Spence Jr. moving into a showdown against Keith Thurman. Just a few short months ago, the former unified champion at 147 pounds was gleeful when he was mandated to take on the current IBF, WBA, and WBC titlist.
Stanionis though, has shook his head in disapproval. Considering that Thurman has spent most of his time sequestered on the sidelines due to injuries, the Lithuanian contender doesn’t believe it’s right that Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) could find himself fighting for three of the four major world titles.
“It’s not fair,” said Stanionis to BoxingScene.com. “The sport has to move on. He’s not active, he got injuries so you fix your injuries, you come back and you fight other fighters who is in line. You can’t skip the line, it’s not fair.”
As Stanionis alludes to, Thurman’s path back to the championship stage has been a pretty smooth one.
After coming up just short during his 2019 showdown against Manny Pacquiao, Thurman has fought just once, registering a unanimous decision victory against Mario Barrios who was making his welterweight debut last year.
Although he’s recorded just one victory since 2019, Thurman appears to be positioned perfectly for arguably the biggest fight of his career. Still, despite his likely selection, Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) has stated in years past that, due to his disdain for the former champion, that he would never face Thurman in the ring.
If, however, Spence ultimately changes his mind, Stanionis will be somewhat understanding, though disgusted, with his choice.
“I understand from business standpoint. Thurman is a bigger draw, is a bigger name. I’m not known well in the U.S.”