Eimantas Stanionis vs. Jabulani Makhense

September twenty-seventh at the Žalgiris Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania. Ten rounds scheduled at super welterweight.

This is a homecoming for Stanionis (having not fought on Lithuanian soil in over 10 years, since 2015 in the amateurs), doubling as his rebound from his first pro loss this past April to Jaron Ennis. He is still ranked #8 in the world at welterweight by the WBC and #2 by the WBA.

His opponent from Pretoria, SA, grew up idolizing Cassius "Mr. Shy Guy" Baloyi and comes in with a 16-2 record, some physical advantages (3" of height and 7" of reach) and brimming with confidence. He called Stanionis "a basic fighter that I have already has figured out".

 

Stanionis vs. Jaron Ennis:

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Makhense vs. Daniyar Yeleussinov:
(IBA Pro)

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Aw man, it's a PPV?

It costs €21.99‎ (that is, about 26 bucks in USD)

 

I was wondering what you were talking about.

That said, despite getting shut out, Makhense did have some good moments against Yeleussinov and his physical dimensions could pose some problems for Stanionis.

 

Bookies have Stanionis at -1200 and Makhense at +700.

 

I'm actually annoyed at this being a PPV. By rights it's on about the same level as many cards that are regularly free to air on promoters' social media pages these days. I just happen to want to watch this one, but zero chance I'm paying twenty-two bucks for it.

It seems so arbitrary which boxing events are deemed sufficiently commodifiable to charge money for...it's like there's no basis in quality/parity/name recognition. Just completely haphazard. There's another "PPV" tomorrow with Bishop Le'i vs Jacob Blasko as the main event - a 3-0-1 prospect vs. a 2-2 nobody.

And yet we get bangers between ranked contenders for free from ProBox.