Eimantas Stanionis put an end to two years of frustration, successfully defending his WBA welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Gabriel Maestre on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Stanionis had been out of the ring since April 2022, when he narrowly edged Radzhab Butaev in a split decision. The cancellation of a high-profile title defense against Vergil Ortiz Jr. added to a prolonged period of inactivity, a frustrating stretch for the 29-year-old fighter who is in his prime.
The Lithuanian boxer delivered such a dominant performance that of the scores awarded — 117-111, 118-110, and 119-109 — the widest margin felt the most accurate.
Maestre, 37, landed a powerful left hand in the opening round that briefly hurt Stanionis, but in doing so, he ignited the champion’s aggression, allowing Stanionis to establish a commanding lead.
In exchanges, Stanionis consistently got the better of Maestre with sharper, more powerful shots. When not trading punches, his superior accuracy allowed him to control the tempo of the fight and stay ahead on the scorecards.
By the fourth round, Maestre appeared close to being stopped but managed to continue fighting, even though his efforts were largely ineffective.
The two had met once before, at the 2015 AIBA World Championships in Qatar, where Stanionis earned a unanimous decision. Maestre had hoped for a rematch at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, but it never materialized. By the time their rematch finally took place, it was clear that it had come too late for Maestre.
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