That Karen problem has become bigger than ever for Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
The Ring has confirmed that P2M-Box Promotion has won the purse for Ennis’ IBF welterweight mandatory title defense against Karen Chukhadzhian. P2M, Chukhadzhian’s promoter, claimed promotional rights with a bid of $2,000,053.10. Matchroom Boxing, Ennis’ promoter, offered $1,566,666 for the ordered but unwanted rematch.
Ennis is already slated to headline a November 9 DAZN show in his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His team was already resigned to the possibility of vacating the IBF title for a move to junior middleweight.
The tough decision will be seen as a necessity as there is no interest in the mandatory title fight. Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) defeated Ukraine’s Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs) by 12 rounds for the interim IBF welterweight title on January 7 in Washington, DC
An upgrade to full title roster came when Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) was stripped of the belt.
Crawford knocked out Errol Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) last July 29 via ninth-round knockout to fully unify the division. He was summoned by the IBF to face Ennis in a title consolidation bout, but instead relinquished the belt due to a contractually bound rematch clause exercised by Spence.
The rematch never took place, and neither Spence nor Crawford returned to welterweight (or the ring, in Spence’s case).
Ennis defended the full version of the title in a fifth-round knockout of David Avanesyan on July 13 at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia. Avanesyan replaces previously assigned mandatory challenger Cody Crowley, who was rejected by the Pennsylvania Commission after failing an eye exam.
While the homecoming was a successful venture for Ennis and Matchroom, he was still on the hook for a mandatory title defense.
Boxing fans who wondered how Chukhadzhian elevated back to the mandatory position ignored how the match was played. Several fighters passing IBF-ordered eliminators favored the 28-year-old contender.
Chukhadzhian claimed the top contender title after a May 17 victory over Harry Scarff in Rothenbaum, Germany. The IBF then ordered Ennis-Chukhadzian II on July 31. The negotiating period came and went without an agreement in place, leading to Tuesday’s purse hearing.
An agreement was never reached simply because the two parties never had real talks. Instead, Matchroom sought a more desirable unification match, the one loophole to trump an ordered mandatory.
The closest they came was extensive talks with WBO titlist Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs). However, the two parties settled about $500,000 apart on a number that would cause Norman to abandon his current plans.
The 23-year-old from Conyers; Georgia will defend his title against Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas on Nov. 8 in Norfolk, Virginia. The game will serve as the ESPN+ co-feature of Keyshawn Davis’ homecoming header against Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos.
Meanwhile, Ennis’ next step will be decided in the coming days. The final bid is not validated until the sanctioning body receives two separate percentage deposits and signed agreements. Should Ennis vacate, Chukhadzhian would be ordered to face the next highest available contender.
