IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) weighed in at 146 lbs, while challenger Karen Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs) came in at 146.6 pounds for their first round bout. -12 this Saturday, November 9. at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
WBC super flyweight champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) weighed in at 114.8 lbs, while challenger Pedro Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) came in at 114.4 lbs for their feature corresponding to 12 rounds on the card.
Saturday’s Ennis vs. Chukhadzhain will air live on DAZN starting at 7:00 pm ET.
Weights
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis 146 vs. Karen Chukhadzhian 146.6
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez 114.8 vs. Pedro Guevara 114.4
There isn’t much fan interest in this card despite Matchroom and DAZN advertising behind it. The problem is there is no need for a rematch between Bots and Chukhadzhian in the main event. Bam Rodriguez, 24, is not well known to casual boxing fans for these reasons:
– New
– Fighting in the lower weight classes
– Lack of experience against high level competition
“It cost me a lot of money, but what do you want me to do with it?” Sulk? It’s the rules,” Eddie Hearn told Boxing News about Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis being ordered to fight Karen Chukhadzhian in a rematch, which few people are happy to see.
Hearn could have put his foot down and refused to allow Ennis to fight Chukhadzhian in a rematch because this is a move that hurts both of them. Ennis’ career will suffer with these types of fights, and it doesn’t do Hearn any favors.
“I admire the IBF a lot for adhering to its rules, but I am saddened that it does not use common sense on this radio station. “We wanted more time to fight the battle to bring Brian Norman together,” said Hearn.
Even though there was time to negotiate, Hearn would not get a unification match with WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. who joined Boots because he wanted more money than he was willing to pay. Hearn would have had years, but he couldn’t have done the deal without Norman Jr. coming up with an extra $500,000. he wanted.
“We ran out of time. We had a purse bid. “Either you lose the belt or fight Chukhadzhian,” said Hearn. “I said to Boots, ‘Tell me what you want to do, my friend. I will support you 100%. If I have to put money into this war, I will put money into it because it is part of a long-term plan. You’re going to be in charge of sports for a long time.’”
We don’t know if Ennis will be in charge of the sport for long, as Hearn says. We know that if Boot stays at welterweight, he could hold his IBF title for a long time, but that’s because this division is weak. Probably the weakest level in 20+ years. All the skill players are 154, and Boot doesn’t want to go up for some reason. Is it fear? Some boxing fans believe that’s why Boots will have an easy pick at junior middleweight, which he did at 147.
Best Fighters at 147:
- Jaron Ennis
- Brian Norman
- Mario Barrios
- Eimantas Stanionis
- Ryan Garcia
- Devin Haney
He said, ‘I want belts at 147.’ I said: ‘Let’s fight him. Do it. I’m going to make a big card. Let’s make it happen. We did it, Saturday night, I think we will fight well,” said Hearn.
If Ennis is going to stay at welterweight until he achieves his undisputed goal, he must be prepared to sacrifice time in his career. As long as Ennis is healthy enough to stay at welterweight for another three or four years to achieve his goal, he’ll be fine. He could be 30 years old when he does, and it will be very difficult for him to make the transition to the 154-lb weight class when he moves up.
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