ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – There will be moments Saturday night when Eimantas Stanionis would be better served by boxing with Jaron Ennis.

The unbeaten IBF welterweight champion is the most dangerous opponent Stanionis will encounter since he turned professional following the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Stanionis understands that trading on the inside with Ennis could cause insurmountable trouble during the biggest fight of the WBA welterweight champion’s life.

The 30-year-old Lithuanian just won’t be able to help himself.

“I would say I’m like a brawler, Mexican style,” Stanionis told The Ring. “I know how to box. I have experience. But I always love to bang because I like to give fans excitement. Like I said, I don’t care about [whether I] win or lose. I care about the fans, to give them the best fight they can see. I give all of my heart.”

Stanionis is well aware he will face Ennis inside the same arena where Arturo Gatti gave all of himself many times during the late legend’s memorable run that HBO mostly broadcast from the mid-1990s until the late legend’s final fight in July 2007. Ennis-Stanionis is the most meaningful boxing match at 12,000-seat Boardwalk Hall, where Gatti competed 11 times, since Sergey Kovalev beat Bernard Hopkins in their light heavyweight title fight in November 2014.

Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs, 1 NC) headlined at the smaller venue, the 3,500-seat Adrian Philips Theater, upstairs from the main arena at Boardwalk Hall in July 2023. The Philadelphia native knocked out heavy-handed Venezuelan Roiman Villa (27-3, 25 KOs) in the 10th round of that “Showtime Championship Boxing” main event.

Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) was supposed to defend his WBA welterweight title versus Vergil Ortiz Jr., Ennis’ rival, that same night at AT&T Center in San Antonio. Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs) was hospitalized the night before their final press conference, though, which cost Stanionis what was supposed to be a career-high purse of $1.75 million and kept him inactive for almost 10 more months.

Stanionis has fought only once in the nearly three years since he won his WBA belt by beating Russia’s Radzhab Butaev by split decision at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Inactivity has limited Stanionis to less than half the fights Ennis has on his record, which was why he happily accepted this showdown less than an hour from where Ennis grew up in North Philadelphia.

Ennis is listed as a 6-1 favorite by DraftKings. Stanionis couldn’t care less what oddsmakers think or trolls say on social media.

“It’s good that people talk,” Stanionis said. “They [mention] your name. It’s either a good thing or a bad thing, you know? I say all the time, when you’re doing good things people will talk. If it’s good or bad, it doesn’t matter. You absorb all the information. I can just block it out, live my life and be happy. Or I can see every comment and say, ‘Oh, my God! He insulted me. He broke my heart.’ I don’t care. I laugh because it’s a tough sport. We do this crazy stuff for a living.”

DAZN will stream Ennis-Stanionis as its main event of coverage scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).

In addition to Ennis’ IBF and Stanionis’ WBA belts, they will fight for The Ring’s vacant welterweight title. Ennis is ranked No. 1 by The Ring in the welterweight division and Stanionis is rated No. 2.