Eimantas Stanionis Says It’s ‘Unfair’ For Keith Thurman To Get A Shot At Errol Spence Jr
Stanionis has been ordered to defend his secondary title against Vergil Ortiz Jr.
After taking considerable steps throughout the course of his career, Lithuanian boxer Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) believes he has started to run out of ideas.
After his difficult win over Radzhab Butaev, there was a belief that Stanionis would coast to the front of the championship line. However, the 28-year-old was stunned as his dream was put on halt.
Since the WBA sanctioning body ordered the secondary title holder to defend his belt against Vergil Ortiz Jr., it is likely that Errol Spence Jr. moves into contention against Keith Thurman. A report from yesterday afternoon said that Spence and Thurman are closing in on a deal for a non-title fight.
However, Stanionis is not amused by this development. Considering the fact that Thurman has spent most of the time on the sidelines due to injuries, the Lithuanian boxer doesn’t think it’s right to see him in action consistently. He believes Thurman shouldn’t be eligible to fight 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.”
“I understand from business standpoint. Thurman is a bigger draw, is a bigger name. I’m not known well in the U.S.”