Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis says he wants to move up to 154 after struggling to defeat the technically gifted Karen Chukhadzhian in their rematch at 147 in Philadelphia last Saturday night.
If Ennis moves up to 154, he can immediately challenge the IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev for his title and show the fans that his problems last night were related to him being drained. That was one of Ennis’ excuses for his problems with Chukhadzhian (24-3, 13 KOs).
Chukhadzhian showed the strength that no one had ever seen from him, as he looked like a miniature Artur Beterbiev with some of the shots he used to hit Ennis. You could hear Chukhadzhian’s punches landing on Ennis all night to know he hit with power.
What kept Chukhadzhian from winning was the activity. He focused too much on landing single pot shots rather than overwhelming Boots with activity like undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev does at 175.
If Chukhadzhian took it close and threw non-stop punches like Beterbiev does, he would have knocked Boots out last night for hitting him with massive punches throughout the match.
Can Ennis handle Murtazaliev’s power?
Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) is possibly the biggest puncher at 154, and he will be a big test for Ennis if he moves up to fight for his IBF belt. This would be a fight where Boots Ennis would have to be more defensive as he couldn’t rely on his chin to take the kind of shots Murtazaliev would dish out for 12 rounds.
Ennis took a lot of hard, clean shots from Chukhadzhian last Saturday night
Boots and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, have spoken about wanting to meet the WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. next in a Riyadh season event if the right offer comes in. However, it would mean a lot more if Ennis chose to fight for a full belt against the King of the 154-lb division, Murtazliev, rather than for an interim tie against a fighter coming from a controversial majority decision of 12 rounds over Serhii Bohachuk on August 10.
Boots’ apologies
IBF welterweight champion Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) blamed his problems in the Chukhadzhian fight on three reasons:
- Lack of pop in his punches: In the post-fight interview, Ennis said he lacked “pop” in his punches against Karen, and he felt it would be different if he moved up to 154.
- Getting older: The 27-year-old Ennis mentioned getting older, which he saw as a possible reason why he couldn’t handle Chukhadzhian’s superior skills. Ennis looked like he didn’t have the skills to handle the Ukrainian fighter, who had abilities he didn’t possess. Ennis never learned the things Chukhadzhian showed in battle. As a result, he was schooled, and he only won because of his activity level.
- Not motivated: Ennis referred to Chukhadzhian as a “bottom tier” fighter in the post-fight press conference.
Ennis’ excuses for his incompetent performance were pathetic to watch, and it’s just another example of a fighter who can’t face the truth. Given how depressed Ennis looked and sounded after the fight, he knows that Chukhadzhian was the better fighter.
“I think it might be time to go to 154. I feel like at 154, I’m going to be a lot better, and my pop is going to be what it’s supposed to be. If we get one of these guys (an elite welterweight ) could get to stop playing, let’s make it happen. But if not, then 154, here I come,” Jaron Ennis said DAZN after his win over Chukhadzhian last Saturday night.
Murtazaliev is not quite as skilled as Chukhadzhian, but he is not far behind and hits that much harder. He has knockout power in both hands, as fans saw recently with his third-round TKO victory over former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu on October 19 in Orlando, Florida.
Ennis would have a lot of trouble against Murtazaliev, and it’s doubtful he’ll make it past the third round with the way he was hit by Chukhadzhian.
