IBF welterweight champion Jaylen “Boots” Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) will face WBA champion Emmantas Stanionis live on DAZN on April 12 15 wins, 0 losses, 9 KOs), the two sides will have two unification matches at 147 on April 12 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

This is the unification match that Ennis, 27, has been craving since moving up to the IBF welterweight title in November 2023. Boots needs to put in an impressive performance in this game as he has looked lackluster in his last four games against Karen Chuhargian x 2, David Avanesia and Roy Mann Vera.

You could argue this is Butz’s first test, but after his last fight with Chuhargian, it’s hard to imagine a tougher matchup for him. In a Nov. 9 rematch with the Ukrainian fighter at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, he made Karen look like a mini-Artur Beterbiev.

If Stanionis is better than Kellen, Jalen could lose this game on April 12 and make Eddie Hearn regret signing him.

Ennis’ decision to turn down a bigger payday in a fight that would have seen him take on WBC interim junior middleweight champion Virgil Ortiz Jr. on next month’s Riyadh season card on February 22 makes His performance against Stanionis was even more important.

Boxing fans viewed Butz as a fighter who lacked ambition and confidence after being beaten twice by Chuhajian.

On May 4 last year, Stanionis defeated Gabriel Masre by unanimous decision in the 12th round. His performance in that game was better than Ennis has been in any of his past four games.

“It was a really good fight,” promoter Eddie Hearn said. “When we signed Butz, I said to him, we’re going to provide him with uniformity, so it’s a great thing for Jaylen to do, and I know that with him having the greatest game of his career, With a fight ahead of him, Emmantas is a great fighter and undoubtedly the No. 1 and No. 2 fighter in the division.”