Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez will be under the spotlight tonight, hoping to shine in their respective bouts at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) defends his IBF welterweight title in a rematch against mandatory challenger Karen Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs) in the main event.
(Credit: Amanda Westcott/Matchroom Boxing)
Tonight’s event will be shown live on DAZN at 7:00 PM ET. Live updates and results will be shown below.
Boots, 27, has a history with Chukhadzhian, having beaten him by a 12-round unanimous decision last January 7 in Washington, DC. , defeated these fighters: Harry Scarff, Michael Marcano, and Pietro Rossetti.
At 7:00 PM ET on DAZN – Main Card
- Jaron “Boots” Ennis (32-0, 29 KO) vs. Karen Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KO). In the headliner, Ennis defends against Chukhadzhian in a fight that failed to ignite fan passion. After the problems Chukhadzhian Boots gave in their first fight last year, Ennis needs to score a knockout to show people that he is better than he showed last time.
- Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KO) vs Pedro Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KO): Undefeated WBC super flyweight champion ‘Bam’ Rodriguez defends against Guevara in the co-main event. It could come down to Bam saving tonight’s card if Ennis doesn’t live up to the billing in the main event.
- Raymond Ford (15-1-1, 8 KO) vs. Orlando Gonzalez (23-2, 13 KO). Former WBA featherweight champion Ford, 25, will fight for the first time since losing his title to Nick Ball via a 12-round split decision on June 1. Ford faces the 29-year-old Gonzalez, who has won his last five fights.
- Khalil Coe (9-0-1, 7 KO) vs Manuel Gallegos (20-2-1, 17 KO). Light heavyweight Coe (28) will be looking for another knockout in another build-up fight for him against Gallegos.
- Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (16-1, 11 KO) vs Gian Garrido (11-1, 8 KO). Middleweight Williams (28) is looking to bounce back with an 11th round knockout against Hamzah Sheeraz on June 1 in Riyadh. This fight is a confidence-building match for Williams against the 26-year-old Garrido, who was recently knocked out in the second round last year.
Fans are questioning the IBF’s decision to install Chukhzadzhian as the mandatory at 147 for Boots after wins over these three obscure fighters, none of whom are known by fans. Contenders are normally required to oppose highly ranked fighters to earn a mandatory position. In Chukhadzhian’s case, this did not happen.
WBC super flyweight champion ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) defends against interim champion Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) in the main support bout on tonight’s card. Bam, 24, has gained a lot of notoriety over the past two years by beating older former world champions, with wins over Juan Francisco Estrada, Carlos Cuastras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
Guevara, 35, has won his last two fights after losing to Cuadras via a 12-round unanimous decision on November 17 last year. In Guevara’s last two fights, he beat Andrew Moloney and Lamberto Macias to put himself in position for tonight’s fight.
