Boxing fans would be forgiven for wondering what’s in store for Saturday’s fight between IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Karen Chukhadjian. On the surface, Ennis vs. Chukhadjian represents the worst of the mandatory challengers, with Ennis already beating Chukhadjian in 12 shutout rounds in January 2023.
Chukhadjian (24-2, 13 KOs) couldn’t exactly tear through the toughest competition to earn a rematch with Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs), one of boxing’s brightest young stars, picking up a bounceback win over Michele Marcano before picking up Pietro One of the IBF’s various trinkets against Rossetti followed by a win over Harry Scharf to secure a rematch in May. And while fan excitement over the rematch was dampened, Chukhadzhian’s “tricks” and “tricky” style proved a nuisance as he forced Ennis into the least exciting fight of his career.
But boxing is about more than just fighters. The whims and financial interests of promoters and sanctioning bodies play a role in these decisions
Because of this, the fight can be seen through the lens of measuring Ennis’ ability to analyze and adjust to the first fight. He’s never been tested since then, but Ennis won’t want to fight the same way he did in the first go-round in front of his hometown crowd in Philadelphia.
Ennis has been seen as one of the future leaders of the sport for years and eventually became world champion in November 2023, rising from the interim champion status he gained in the first Chukhadjian fight to full world champion after defeating the then undisputed champion. Terence Crawford Jr. was stripped of the belt as planned to move up to the middleweight division. Earlier, Ennis’ path to the 147-pound gold was blocked by the long-awaited fight between Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.
With a successful title defense against David Avanessian under his belt, Ennis now has the chance to make a statement by being even more impressive by sharing the ring with Chukhadjian for the second time.
Ennis isn’t the only bright young star set to battle Saturday at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center. WBC super flyweight champ Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) will be in action when he takes on interim champion Pedro Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) in the co-feature.
Rodriguez became a Fighter of the Year candidate in 2022, winning the WBC Junior Bantamweight title against Carlos Cuadras, defending the belt against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and then moving back to flyweight to take the WBC belt. in that Split fight with Israel Gonzalez.
Rodriguez has fought three times since that brilliant 2022 campaign, most notably through Sunny Edwards to unify the IBF and WBO belts at flyweight and then return to 115 pounds to regain the WBC junior bantamweight fight by knocking out Juan Francisco Estrada.
In Guevara, Rodriguez faces a tough veteran who is less dangerous than Edwards or Estrada but won’t roll over for the 24-year-old rising superstar.
Ennis vs Chukhadjian fight card, odds
- Jaron “Boots” Ennis (C) -4000 vs. Karen Chukhadjian +1500, IBF Welterweight Title
- Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (c)-1800 vs. Pedro Guevara +1000, WBC Junior Bantamweight Title
- Raymond Ford vs. Orlando Gonzalez, Jr. Lightweights
- Khalil Ko -2000 vs. Manuel Gallegos +900, light heavyweight
- Ernesto “Tito” Mercado -900 Vs. Jesus Saracho +500, Junior Welterweights
Where to see Ennis vs Chukhadjian
- Date: Saturday, November 9
- Location: Wells Fargo Arena — Philadelphia
- Start time: 7 p.m. ET
- Streaming: DAZN
Prophecy
Ennis owns the first meeting 120-108 on all three official scorecards, never losing a round in the eyes of any of the judges. After all, you can find two awkward rounds to give Chukhadjian the power to make things ugly enough. But, if we’re being honest, nothing in their first fight would give you any indication that Chukhadjian has the skills or gameplan to defeat someone of Ennis’ talent level.
The question is whether Ennis can make an even bigger statement in the rematch. Chukhadjian is the only man to finish 12 rounds with Ennis, so finding a way to get a stoppage would be a meaningful path for the champion. Given a full fight to watch on film and absorb what it was like to deal with Chukhadjian’s style, it’s fair to assume that Ennis might be able to stop in a fight that won’t always be pleasant in the eyes of the audience. Pick: Jaron Ennis via TKO9
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