Mohegan Sun, CT. - A pair of hard-hitting welterweights went toe-to-toe as Eimantas Stanionis (13-0, 9 KOs) beat former world title challenger Thomas Dulorme (25-5-1, 16 KOs) via unanimous decision in a WBA welterweight title eliminator.
This was the most difficult challenge of the rising 26-year-old’s career as Dulorme took him past the ninth round for the first time. The three ringside judges scored the fight 115-113, 116-112 and 117-111.
“It’s been a dream since I was a kid watching Showtime to be on this stage,” said Stanionis. “I’m proud of what I’ve achieved. I’ve had a long hard journey to get here, but it’s been worth it.”
The two fighters combined for nearly 1,400 punches in their exciting welterweight battle. Stanionis outlanded the 31-year-old Dulorme 232 to 193 and edged his opponent with higher connection percentages across the board. Most notably, Stanionis worked well behind his powerful jab, landing 123 total throughout the 12-round fight.
“Dulorme always threw back at me, even if I hurt him,” stated Stanionis, who is one step closer to becoming Lithuania’s first world champion. “I knew that if I was wild, he could have caught me with a good shot. I have more confidence in myself now because I know I can go 12 rounds with a good fighter. I know how the pressure will hit me now. Anything can happen in this sport, so I made sure I was prepared coming into this fight.”
In the 10th round, a nasty cut opened above the left eye of Dulorme which was ruled by referee Harvey Dock to have resulted from a punch. The fight came to a fantastic finish as the Lithuanian prospect went for the knockout in the 12th round but the veteran Dulorme did not subdue to the pressure.