Eimantas Stanionis-Shakhram Giyasov: WBA Orders Nov. 8 Purse Bid For Welterweight Title Fight
The battle for the purse bid is going exactly that way.
Eimantas Stanionis’ WBA welterweight title defense against Shakhram Giyasov will be made available to the highest bidder. The mandated approval is scheduled for a November 8 fund application hearing, the WBA announced on Wednesday.
Efforts are being made between their parties to reach an agreement during and after the deadline. Stanionis fights under the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) banner but is represented on paper by TGB Promotions. Giyasov owns Matchroom Boxing and World of Boxing.
Whatever progress was made, it was not enough to sway the old sports body to go this route.
“The committee ordered the fight on September 19,” said the chairman of the WBA Championship Committee, Carlos Chavez. “The control period of one month to conduct negotiations… ended on October 19 without receiving an answer about the agreement.
“Tenders will be allocated 75% of the fund for the champion and 25% for the challenger. The minimum amount to receive fighting rights will be $150,000.00.”
WBA Championship Committee vice-chairman Julio Thyme will oversee the program from the WBA’s US headquarters in Houston, Texas.
Stanionis (15-0. 9 knockouts) was promoted to the full WBA welterweight title after Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) surrendered his belt. The 30-year-old Lithuanian has held the WBA ‘Regular’ title since April 2022 but has only defended one title. It came off 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 shot against Radzhab Butaev.
Stanionis’ 2023 empty-net campaign was due to the failed efforts of Vergil Ortiz Jr. to enter the ring. Their mandatory title fight was postponed three times – once due to Stanionis’ injury and twice due to Ortiz’s illness. The PBC then set its schedule for the second half, which left Stanionis—a 2016 Olympian—out in the cold.
Uzbekistan’s Giyasov (16-0, 9 KOs) became a contender after decision victories over Harold Calderon and Pablo Cesar Cano. In his latest debut, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist defeated Miguel Parra by split decision on July 31 in Santa Monica, California. The card kicks off fight week to launch the Riyadh Season of the US in Los Angeles.
Giyasov has now gone the distance in five straight starts. He will compete in his first title fight.
As with all bag bids, both parties can reach an agreement up to 15 minutes before the start of the session. The WBA has previously shown great flexibility with both the PBC and Matchroom in accepting verbal agreements—even those that don’t produce an actual fight.
