ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – Eimantas Stanionis is exactly the type of opponent Jaron Ennis has wanted to fight for several years.

The 30-year-old Stanionis is an unbeaten world champion who is equally eager to prove he is as good as he and his handlers have insisted while waiting for a dangerous contemporary to face him. Stanionis thought he had that opportunity in July 2023, until Vergil Ortiz Jr. withdrew from their WBA welterweight title fight only two days before it was supposed to take place at AT&T Center in San Antonio.

Ennis knocked out Venezuelan puncher Roiman Villa in the 10th round at Boardwalk Hall’s Adrian Philips Theater the same night Stanionis was supposed to defend his title against Ortiz. Twenty-one months later, Ennis and Stanionis will square off in a DAZN main event at Boardwalk Hall’s main arena, across the concourse from where Ennis picked apart Villa.

Two months shy of his 28th birthday, it’s an opportunity Ennis knows he must seize.

“I’m ready to show out,” Ennis said during a press conference Thursday at Caesars Atlantic City. “You know, I’m ready to put on a show, show the world why I’m the best in the world. You know, come Saturday night I’m taking home all these belts.”

Philadelphia’s Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs, 1 NC) and Lithuania’s Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) will fight for Ennis IBF, Stanionis’ WBA and the vacant Ring 147-pound championships. Ennis is The Ring’s No. 1-ranked welterweight contender, one spot atop the second-ranked Stanionis.

Ennis believes he is among boxing’s best, pound-for-pound, even if his list of conquests isn’t as impressive as he would prefer at this point in his career. The confident Ennis nevertheless envisions eventually being mentioned in the same sentences with all-time greats.

“I wanna stamp my name [in] the welterweight division,” Ennis said. “You know, with those top guys – ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather. You know, and not too many people could say they fought for The Ring magazine [belt], or had it. And on Saturday night I will have it.

“And I’m gonna have that WBA belt and my IBF belt, so you know, that’s stamping my legacy right there. And, you know, from there it’s up. Like I said, we gonna show the world why I’m the best in the world. You know, I really don’t wanna like say too much cuz I don’t wanna give nothing away or nothing like that. But we gonna put on – for sure.”

Stanionis is, at least on paper, the most formidable foe of Ennis’ pro career, which began in April 2016. DraftKings still lists the multidimensional Ennis as a 6-1 favorite over Stanionis, a 2016 Olympian.