Stanionis vs Thurman Dec 9th on Showtime PBC PPV In Vegas

Thurman has accepted the challenge to face WBA world welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis on December 9 in Las Vegas. This fight will be featured as part of a pay-per-view event presented by Showtime at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, marking the venue's 100th boxing card that night.

The event is expected to include a middleweight championship match, pitting one of Thurman's rivals, Danny Garcia, against Erislandy Lara, the WBA 160-pound titleholder. Additionally, there will be a lightweight rematch between Chris Colbert and Jose Valenzuela.

Thurman, a former WBA/WBC 147-pound champion with a record of 30-1, 22 KOs, and 1 no contest, will make his return to the ring after a 22-month layoff when he faces Stanionis, who boasts a record of 14-0, 9 KOs, and 1 no contest, in their 12-round title bout. The Clearwater, Florida native's last fight was a unanimous-decision victory over Mario Barrios (28-2, 18 KOs) in February 2022 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

Despite being considered one of the top welterweights in the boxing world for the past decade, Thurman has fought only three times since his split-decision win over Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) in their welterweight title unification fight in March 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Thurman had anticipated a showdown with his Premier Boxing Champions rival, Errol Spence Jr., in a 12-round, 154-pound bout earlier this year. However, Spence opted for a long-awaited welterweight title unification match with Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs), where Crawford secured victory by dropping Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) three times and stopping him in the ninth round on July 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Eimantas Stanionis, a 29-year-old fighter from Lithuania, will also end a lengthy 19-month hiatus when he faces Thurman.