By David Weinberg
Big-time boxing returned to Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall Saturday night for the first time in 11 years.
It was worth the wait.
A roaring crowd of approximately 8,000 watched Philadelphia welterweight Jaron Ennis deliver a spectacular performance that produced a sixth-round TKO over Lithuania’s Eimantis Stanionis in a championship unification fight.
“Man, it was incredible,” Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame president Ray McCline said. “It was amazing and it was just great to see people loading into Boardwalk Hall for a fight again.”
Ennis-Stanionis was the first boxing event held in Boardwalk Hall’s main arena since former light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev defeated International Boxing Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins on November 8, 2014.
The stately building was once considered the unofficial “Boxing Capital of the World” due to the plethora of legendary fights and fighters that performed there in the 1980’s, 90’s and early 2000’s.
Former heavyweight Mike Tyson drew huge crowds there for fights against Larry Holmes, Tyrell Biggs, the late Alex Stewart and Michael Spinks, including a record crowd of 21,785 for his 91-second knockout over Spinks on June 27, 1988.
That fight was so big that it was held on a Monday in order for casinos and other Atlantic City businesses to capitalize on the throngs that poured into town over the weekend.
And while other heavyweights like the late George Foreman, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and also drew thousands, the fans were just as excited to watch giants of other weight classes like the late Hector Camacho, Roberto Duran, Roy Jones Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard, Sergio Martinez, and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
And the late Arturo Gatti.
Boardwalk Hall underwent a renovation in the late 90’s that reduced seating capacity for boxing from over 20,000 to approximately 12,000. Gatti filled all the remaining seats, drawing sellout crowds for nine straight fights from 2003-07.
The post-renovation record is 12,675 for Gatti’s bout against Mayweather on June 25, 2005. Ironically, Gatti’s corner stopped that fight after the sixth round.
“The venue is iconic,” Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said. “It’s such a historic building. Look at the people who have fought here. Holmes, Foreman, Tyson, Leonard, Mayweather, Gatti and now (Ennis).”
There were a few empty seats at the top of the hall Saturday, but atmosphere was still electric.
Music blared between undercard fights while ring card girls shot t-shirts through clouds of marijuana smoke into the stands. A lot of fans came dressed to impress, donning outfits featuring leather and lace in all the right – and sometimes wrong – places.
The prefight ring walks featured fighters emerging from a giant video screen hyping their upcoming bouts and strolling down a runway before climbing through the ropes. Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey accompanied Ennis on his trek.
More than three-fourths of the crowd featured Ennis fans, who responded to a plea from an announcer by turning on their cell phone flash lights and screaming “Booots” (Ennis’ nickname).
“It was a different feel than the old times,” McCline said. “It was more about the show than just the fights. But it was still great.”
Once the opening bell sounded, however, there was little question about who was the star of the show.
Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs), the International Boxing Federation champion, is known for his power, but used his underrated boxing skills to dictate the pace at the outset.
He switched from a conventional stance to southpaw and back on a whim, peppering Stanionis (15-1, 9 KOs), the World Boxing Association champ, with jabs and combinations.
“When I fight top-of-the-line guys, good guys, that’s what you’re going to see,” Ennis said. “You’re going to see a whole different me. When I’m in the ring, I’m in my happy place. Can’t nobody mess with me.”
By the fourth round, Ennis’ pink gloves had specks of red from Stanionis’ bloody nose.
Stanionis gamely tried to rally in the fifth, drawing shouts from his cheering section landing an overhand right on Ennis’ beard while following him into the ropes in hopes of inflicting more damage.
Ennis re-established command in the sixth, landing jabs and hooks that had Stanionis on the retreat.
Two powerful body shots forced him to his knees with about a minute left. Stanionis got up, lasted the round, and stared defiantly at Ennis before returning to his corner.
A minute later, trainer Marvin Somodio whispered in Stanionis’ ear, then informed referee David Fields that he was unable to continue.
“Stanionis tried his heart out,” Hearn said. “But Jaron gave one of the best performances I’ve ever seen live. He was fighting one of the best welterweights and absolutely battered him, played with him.
“Shoutout to Marvin, who saved him from a bad beating. I mean, he took a bad beating, but (avoided) a bad stoppage that could have affected the rest of his career.”
Saturday’s event proved two things.
Ennis is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and has an extremely bright future that could see him move up to junior-middleweight, middleweight and perhaps even super-middleweight to challenge to best in those weight classes.
Hopefully, some of those big fights will be held at Boardwalk Hall. Ennis possesses both the talent and huge fan base to make Atlantic City his boxing home, much the way Gatti and Pavlik did.
“For us as a promotional company, Atlantic City was amazing,” Hearn said. “The venue is iconic and Jaron Ennis has a lot of passionate supporters.”
The encouraging attendance and atmosphere there showed that the building is more than capable of hosting big fights once again.
Major props to Boardwalk Hall officials, the Atlantic City Sports Commission, the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Athletic Control Board and others who came together to make Saturday’s event such a resounding success.
Boardwalk Hall may never reclaim its status as the “Boxing Capital of the World,” but the arena certainly deserves to host one or two major fights per year.
The old days are gone forever. But the new days could be just as special.
David is a nationally recognized sports columnist who has covered Philadelphia and local sports for over 40 years. After 35 years with The Press, he has served as a columnist for 973ESPN.com and created his own Facebook page, Dave Weinberg Extra Points.
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