Saturday, April 20, 2024  |

News

Schaefer signs another Olympian to growing stable

Fighters Network
20
Dec

Richard Schaefer hasn’t signed a marquee fighter to anchor his new promotional company, but he is snatching up a number of polished amateurs he hopes will eventually turn into superstars.

The latest to ink with Schaefer’s Ringstar Sports is 2016 Lithuanian Olympian Eimantas Stanionis, a talented 22-year-old welterweight, whose signing was announced on Monday. The 5-8 Stanionis is highly skilled and aggressive, and he marks the fourth fighter that Schaefer, a former CEO of Golden Boy, has retained since he announced the formation of the firm in June.

Rather than sign a veteran, Schaefer is building his company from the ground up. Stanionis joins two other 2016 Olympians at Ringstar — U.S. lightweight Carlos Balderas and Mexican bronze-medalist Misael Rodriguez, a middleweight. Bantamweight Jose Balderas, the older brother of Carlos, also signed with Schaefer, who has previously said he plans to hold a card in February in Los Angeles for their pro debuts.

“I am a hard puncher and I do whatever it takes to win,” said Stanionis in a press release. “I think boxing fans will be excited by my style. I want to be the first world champion ever from Lithuania. My goal is to make history.”



Stanionis got his start in 2007 and compiled an amateur record of 141-19. He won four senior national championships and two youth nationals; he also struck gold at the 2015 European Championships, according to a press release. Stanionis was eliminated in the Round of 16 of the Rio Olympics this summer by Uzbekistan silver medalist Shakhram Giyasov.

“Being able to add a fighter like Eimantas Stanionis to our growing group of world class fighters is a great pleasure,” Schaefer said in a prepared statement. “Stanionis is a very accomplished young man who works very hard at his craft. He could be the next great Eastern European fighter to come over to the U.S. and make it big. We expect him to make big waves in the welterweight division.”

SIGN UP TO GET RING NEWS ALERTS