Trainer Stephen Edwards was surprised how easily Karen Chukhadzhian neutralized IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ offense last Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Chukhadzhian (24-3, 13 KOs) was holding Ennis, and not letting him escape.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Edwards feels that Ennis was too distracted by people in the crowd, and he wasn’t listening to his trainer in the corner. His dad/trainer, Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis was just telling Boots to “Get him out of there,” and didn’t seem to have any useful advice other than to motivate him.
The way Chukhadzhian fought last Saturday, he looks like he could be a future champion at 147, and will grab one of the belts soon.
Even in a rematch with Boots, an improved Chukhadzhian might be too much for him because he looked 100% better this time around. All Karen would need is another 30%, and he beats Boots.
Chukhadzhian Neutralized Boots
“Boots is forceful, but Karen neutralized a lot of that. Even when Boots dropped him, Karen was frustrating Boots, and he was clinching Boots in a way that made it hard for him to fight out of the clinches. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a wrestling background,” said Stephen Edwards to MillCity Boxing, reflecting on Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ fight against Karen Chukhadzhian last Saturday.
You could tell that Chukhadzhian was physically stronger than Boots. When he’s grab Boots, he held him like a wrestler and there was no escape. Chukhadzhian has that natural Artur Beterbiev kind of upper body strength. Just looking at him, it’s obvious that he’s powerful. What was surprising was that Chukhadzhian’s shots appeared harder than Ennis’.
“That was impressive. He fought a good fight, and that kind of shocked a lot of people because people saw him running the first time,” said Edwards.
“Everybody in Philly knows Boots has got a good chin, but you don’t have to prove that. He wasn’t just getting hit. He was getting hit while he was punching, which no matter how good your chin is, if you get hit while you’re punching and your head is up in the air, you can get knocked out. I didn’t like some of them punches he got hit with.”
Even if Boots didn’t want to get hit, he was going to get nailed by Chukhadzhian because he was punching when he punched. The only way Boots could have avoided getting hit was to throw nothing.
Ennis Was Getting Hit While Punching
“To get hit while you’re punching, that’s a big deal. On a consistent basis, you can get hurt like that. He does have a real good chin, but you don’t want to have to keep showing that. He’s got to listen to his pop. He’s got to lock in for one voice,” said Edwards about Boots Ennis talking to people inside the crowd during rounds, and appearing distracted.
Boots was getting hit clean by shots that he didn’t see coming all night long from Chukhadzhian, and he had take the shots. A fighter with a weaker chin would have been knocked out. After the fight, Boots’ speech didn’t sound good. His lips were swollen, and he sounded slightly punch drunk.
“That Karen dude is a world-class guy. He can fight. He ain’t no lay down dude. He’s not scared of Boots. He asked to fight him twice, and he did way better this time than he did the first time.”
Chukhadzhian made up his mind that he was going to throw punches this time, and Boots wasn’t ready for the kind of skills and power he had. He also looked stronger than he did the last time they fought on January 7th, 2023. Chukhadzhian had put on muscle, and his punches were landing with more power.
“I still think he can win titles from 147 to 160, but that wasn’t one of his best nights,” said Edwards.
Ennis’s performance wasn’t great, but Chukhadzhian deserves credit for that because he used his superior hand speed, pinpoint punching, and movement to beat Boots in many of the rounds.
It’s questionable whether Boots can win world titles at 154 and 160. He can win belts if he’s strategically matched, but not if he faces the best champions at 154 and 160.
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