The IBF has scheduled a purse bid on September 3 for the rematch between Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Karen Chukhadzhian. IBF welterweight champion Boots Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) is still negotiating a unification bout with WBO champion Brian Norman Jr. If that fight happens, the IBF mandate Chukhadzhian will have to take a back seat and wait.
Chukhadzhian’s second chance
Jake Donovan is reporting the news of the IBF purse bid for the Ennis vs Chukhadzhian purse bid on September 3. Boots beat Chukhadzhian already in January 2023 with a unanimous decision of 12 rounds and won with the scores 120-108 x 3.
Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs) bounced back from that loss and beat three lower-level fighters to earn his way to a rematch. This time it’s for a world title. Fans are eager to see Boots and Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) fought a unification bout. That one must have a lot of slugging involved.
Promoter Eddie Hearn should deliver the Norman Jr. fight for Boots because it would be a shame if he stuck with the rematch with Karan, which no one wants to see.
Ennis recently signed with Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. In his first fight with them, he fought veteran David Avanesyan on July 13, knocking him out in the fifth round at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Ennis outlasted Terence Crawford, who knocked out Avanesyan in the sixth round with disintegrating gloves in December 2022.
The 154-pound question
If Boots didn’t fight Brian Norman Jr. can get for the unification, he should seriously consider moving up to 154 because he is wasting his time staying at 147 and slowly trying to finish all four belts to match Crawford’s feat of becoming. undisputed. Crawford only had to beat two people to win the four belts, defeating Jeff Horn and Errol Spence.
Ennis wants to quickly get the four titles before moving up to 154, but it may not happen as quickly as he wants. Hearn would have to overpay to get WBC champion Mario Barrios and WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis to agree to fight Boots.
Last updated on 28/08/2024
