Eimantas Stanionis faces Luis Collazo this Saturday in Minneapolis, USA

Eimantas Stanionis vs. Luis Collazo

The Armory in Minneapolis, USA 7/8/21

Hard-hitting rising welterweight contender Eimantas Stanionis will square off against former world champion Luis Collazo in a 10-round duel that headlines FOX PBC Fight Night and on FOX Deportes this Saturday, August 7 from The Armory in Minneapolis.

FOX PBC Fight Night begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and features unbeaten welterweight and two-time Venezuelan Olympian Gabriel Maestre battling Mykal Fox for the Interim WBA Welterweight Title in the co-main event. Kicking off the broadcast, former-two division world champion Devon Alexander “The Great” will return to action for a 10-round welterweight showdown against Luke Santamaría.

Maestre was originally scheduled to face fellow unbeaten Cody Crowley, who was forced to withdraw after a positive COVID-19 test.

Stanionis (13-0, 9 KOs) has earned a series of eye-catching victories as he has climbed up the ranks from prospect to contender, most recently earning a career-best 12-round decision over Thomas Dulorme in April. The 26-year-old from Lithuania, who now lives and trains in California, looked impressive as he picked up three solid wins in 2019, beating Samuel Figueroa via unanimous decision and scoring early stoppages against Julio Cesar Sanchez and Evincii Dixon. The undefeated welterweight continued to put the division on notice with back-to-back dominating main event performances in November and December 2020, when he notched ninth-round knockouts over Justin DeLoach and Janer Gonzalez respectively.

An experienced veteran in the welterweight division, Collazo (39-8, 20 KOs) has proven a stiff test over the years for top welterweights such as Keith Thurman, Shane Mosley, Amir Khan, Andre Berto and Ricky Hatton, to name a few. The Brooklyn, New York-native was a world champion in 2005 and has sprung upsets on rising contenders with memorable knockouts of Victor Ortiz and Sammy Vasquez. After triumphing over Bryant Perrella in 2018, Collazo defeated Samuel Vargas in March 2019 and most recently lost a technical decision to Kudratillo Abdukakhorov in October 2019.

A two-time Olympian for his home country of Venezuela, Maestre (3-0, 3 KOs) had an extensive amateur run that included victories over Brian Castano, Carlos Adames, Alexander Besputin, Oscar Molina and Brian Ceballo. The 34-year-old turned pro in 2019 with a pair of impressive triumphs, stopping previously unbeaten Jeovanis Barraza before earning a TKO over veteran contender Diego Chaves. August 7 will mark Maestre’s U.S. debut professionally.

Fighting out of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Fox (22-2, 5 KOs) towers at nearly six-feet-four-inches tall and has used his length and excellent boxing ability during his pro career that dates back to 2014. The 25-year-old bounced back from a 2019 loss to Shohjahon Ergashev to win his next three outings. In his most recent fight, Fox lost a close decision to Luke Santamaria in August 2020.

Alexander (27-6-1, 14 KOs) makes his return after a June 2019 defeat to Ivan Redkach stunted a previous comeback attempt that saw Alexander go 1-1-1 in fights over a 10-month stretch. Before that stretch, a period of inactivity saw him seek treatment for an addiction to painkillers and eventually prove an inspiration in returning to deliver exciting fights against Andre Berto, Victor Ortiz and Walter Castillo. The St. Louis, Missouri native had an impressive run at super lightweight and unified titles in that division before scoring victories over Marcos Maidana, Lucas Matthysse and eventually Randall Bailey to capture a welterweight championship.

The 32-year-old Santamaría (11-2-1, 7 KOs) steps into the ring to make his FOX debut after dropping a decision to top welterweight prospect Paul Kroll last October. Santamaria had previously scored an August triumph over veteran contender Mykal Fox that saw him drop Fox in round one of their battle on FS1. The Garden Grove, California native also owns a decision over Willie Jones and a split draw against Marquis Taylor in his 2019 contests. Santamaría was unbeaten in 10 fights since his first loss before facing Kroll, with his only other defeat coming via a four-round decision in his third pro bout in 2015.

(Kristian von Sponneck)

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