Eimantas Stanionis retains WBA welterweight title

Eimantas Stanionis  (15-0, 9 KO’s) retained his WBA welterweight title by earning a UD 12 over rugged Gabriel Maestre (6-1-1, 5 KO’s) on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The fight was one of the chief support bouts to the Saul Alvarez - Jaime Munguia main event. 

Stanionis was supposed to make a title defense against Vergil Ortiz Jr. but one delay and cancellation after another saw the fan-friendly Stanionis out of the ring for 2 years since his title-winning effort in April 2022. 

Before that fight, he had faced former world champions Thomas Delorme and Luis Collazo. 

While the scores didn’t reflect the action at times between the two Saturday night, it did reflect that while Maestre was game and gutsy; he was a step behind all night with the final tallies being 117-111, 118-110 and 119-109 all for Stanionis.

Maestre caught Stanionis’ attention in the opening round with a hard shot, but after that, it was one-way traffic for the champion who had previously faced Maestre in the world amateur championships. 

People might question how Maestre, a 37-year-old fighter with 7 fights, qualified for a world title shot, but the numbers are a bit deceiving. Maestre had extensive amateur experience at the world-class level. This allowed him to be moved quickly, beating an undefeated (20-0) fighter in his pro debut. This title shot was his 4th fight in 8 bouts that saw him face an undefeated fighter. 

Before the fight, Maestre, who is friendly and quick with a smile, said he was excited to face a fighter like Stanionis, who comes right to him. But, in the end, that swarming, an aggressive style suited a younger, stronger, and busier Stanionis. 

With Stanionis out of the ring just over 2 years on Saturday night, he will be anxious to get back under the lights, at least once, before the year is out. 

Before the fight, Stanionis, cornered by the Wild Card Gym’s outstanding trainer Marvin Somodio, wasn’t looking past Maestre. But he was confident he’d be ready to add some titles to his collection after this bout. 

“I know he’s coming with everything," Stanionis said of Maestre. "This fight is do or die for him, but it’s the same for me. I’m ready to do anything I can to keep my belt”, he said. “I’m not overlooking Maestre, because he’s a tough fighter, but of course I want the winner of Barrios vs. Maidana. I want to be a throwback fighter and take on all challengers," he said.