Eimantas Stanionis would be willing to step aside for a second time in a year to allow the welterweight division to crown an undisputed champion.
No fighter in men’s boxing has held the title since the introduction of a fourth major belt, and the Lithuainian fighter might hold fire from forcing his case if it made sense to him and his team.
Stanionis defeated Radzhab Butaev to become the WBA ‘World’ welterweight champion as part of the card for the Errol Spence Jr. vs. Yordenis Ugas fight at the weekend.
The headline event saw Spence stop WBA ‘Super’ champion Ugas in the 10th round courtesty of a broken orbital bone, and the 32-year-old American immediately called for WBO belt holder Terence Crawford, with the 34-year-old seemingly keen.
Stanionis had been lined up as the mandatory challenger for Ugas but a deal was reached to allow the unification clash to go ahead on the understanding that he would be given the chance to fight for all three belts. A similar deal may now have to be arranged in order to let the much more high-profile fight be made for some time towards the end of this year.
“It’s up to my team. I am very flexible and just want to fight the best,” Stanionis said to BoxingScene.com .
“I never say no to any challenge. It’s up to my team and I will be ready for anything.”
The 27-year-old contender continued, explaining that he also hopes to hold all four belts, saying: “My dream is still to fight for all of the belts and become undisputed champion. I know that I am young in this game but I like challenges. I can hang with the best.”