Radzhab Butaev vs Eimantas Stanionis Preview April 16th, 2022
Unbeaten WBA “regular” World Welterweight Champion unbeaten Radzhab Butaev of Russia will be defending his belt for the first time against undefeated Eimantas Stanionis of Lithuania in Arlington, Texas this Saturday, April 16th. The 12-round bout is on the undercard of the Errol Spence Jr vs Yordenis Ugas tilt and can be seen on Showtime in North America before the pay-per-view fights begin. Butaev stopped Jamal James in the ninth round to win the title last October. Stanionis last fought in August against Luis Collazo with the fight being called a no-contest in the fourth round after Collazo suffered an accidental head butt.
Butaev vs Stanionis Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Eimantas Stanionis -125
- Radzhab Butaev -105
My Pick
The 28-year-old Butaev fights out of Indio, California and enters the ring with a perfect record of 14-0 with 11 Kos. However, he was beaten by Alexander Besputin by 12-round unanimous decision in November, 2019 in a fight for the vacant WBA Welterweight Title. That bout was eventually ruled a no-contest though when Besputin failed his drug tests.
Butaev reportedly went 392-8 as an amateur after taking up boxing as a nine year old. He also went 9-1 in the World Series of boxing. Since turning pro he’s fought 66 rounds and also captured the vacant NABF Super Welterweight Title in 2016 with an eight-round unanimous decision over Gabor Gorbics. He stands just over 5-feet-10 inches tall with a 72-inch reach and definitely has good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 73.3 per cent.
Butaev has fought mainly in America since turning pro with a couple of fights in his homeland as well. However, other than Besputin, Gorbics and James, most of his opponents have been rather unknown to most boxing fans. Still, he’s an exciting boxer with plenty of power and should face a stiff test against Stanionis on Saturday night.
Stanionis is 27 years old and similar to Butaev in style as he’s also quite aggressive with better-than-average power in his punches. He also has a perfect record as he enters the contest at 13-0 with 9 kos. He made his pro debut in 2017 and has boxed 74 rounds with a current knockout ratio of 64.3 per cent. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a wingspan of 68 inches which means he gives up two inches in height and four inches in reach to Butaev.
He also enjoyed a fine amateur career as he boxed at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he went 1-1. In fact, his record shows two losses to Butaev as an amateur as he was beaten on points twice in 2011. Stanionis has fought his entire career in America with his best win coming over Thomas Dulorme by 12-round unanimous decision last April.
Prediction…
Butaev and Stanionis are both technically unbeaten during their careers but neither has really faced a legitimate elite boxer as of yet although they’ve had a couple of stiff tests so far. Both have a lot of power and solid chins with plenty of amateur experience. Stanionis is out to avenge his losses to Butaev in the amateur ranks but I think Butaev has a bit more power and is the bigger man and that will give him the nod over his old rival in the pro ranks on Saturday night. This is a close call though as it could go either way including a draw but I give the edge to Butaev still.
This is a tossup, but Buataev is bigger with more power.
Play Butaev -105 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Eimantas Stanionis betting • Radzhab Butaev betting