Eimantas Stanionis-Shakhram Giyasov: WBA Orders Nov. 8 Purse Bid For Welterweight Title Fight
A fight destined to head to a purse bid is traveling that very path.
Eimantas Stanionis’ WBA welterweight title defense versus Shakhram Giyasov will be made available to the highest bidder. The ordered mandatory is scheduled for a Nov. 8 purse bid hearing, the WBA announced on Wednesday.
Efforts were made between their respective teams to reach an agreement within and even after the deadline. Stanionis fights under the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) banner but represented on paper by TGB Promotions. Giyasov is with Matchroom Boxing and World of Boxing.
Whatever progress was made, wasn’t enough to sway the sport’s oldest sanctioning body to go this route.
“The committee had ordered the fight last September 19,” WBA Championship Committee chairman Carlos Chavez stated. “The regulatory period of one month to carry out the negotiations… expired this October 19 without obtaining an answer about an agreement.
“The bidding will have a purse distribution of 75% for the champion and 25% for the challenger. The minimum amount to obtain the rights to the fight will be US $ 150,000.00.”
WBA Championship Committee vice chairman Julio Thyme will oversee the process from WBA’s U.S. headquarters in Houston, Texas.
Stanionis (15-0. 9 knockouts) was upgraded to full WBA welterweight titlist after Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) gave up his belt. The 30-year-old from Lithuania previously held the WBA ‘Regular’ title since April 2022 but lodged just one title defense. It came in a May 4 decision victory over Gabriel Maestre on the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia undercard in Las Vegas.
The victory came more than two years after his April 2022 title winning effort over Radzhab Butaev.
Stanionis’ empty 2023 campaign was largely due to the failed efforts by Vergil Ortiz Jr. to make his way to the ring. Their mandatory title fight was postponed three times—once due to a Stanionis injury and twice due to illness suffered by Ortiz. PBC then pared down its second-half schedule, which left Stanionis—a 2016 Olympian—to go cold on the sidelines.
Uzbekistan’s Giyasov (16-0, 9 KOs) became the mandatory after decision victories over Harold Calderon and Pablo Cesar Cano. In his most recent start, the 2016 Olympic Silver medalist edged Miguel Parra via split decision on July 31 in Santa Monica, California. The card kicked off fight week for Riyadh Season’s U.S. launch in Los Angeles.
Giyasov has now gone the distance in five straight starts. He will enter his first career title fight.
As is the case with all purse bids, both parties can still reach a deal up to 15 minutes prior to the start of the session. The WBA has previously shown considerable flexibility with both PBC and Matchroom in accepting verbal agreements—even ones that never produce an actual fight.
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