IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ trainer/father, Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis, hopes that challenger Karen Chukhadzhian doesn’t run as he did in their previous fight last year on January 7th.
Chukhadzhian befuddled Boots for 12 rounds a year ago, making him look bad in their match in Washington, D.C. Ennis won but looked one-dimensional and incapable of adapting to a fighter with a crafty style.
Ennis Could Have Moved Up
Papa Ennis is unhappy that Boots is saddled with fighting Chukhadzhian again. He has no other choice because the International Boxing Federation is ordering the fight for a mandatory defense. This could easily have been solved if Ennis had been more courageous.
Boots could have vacated and moved up to challenge IBF 154-lb champion Bakhram Murtazaliev for his belt. That would have been an obvious move for Ennis, but Murtazaliev is a devastating puncher and might knock out Boots. The Philadelphia native wants no part of moving up to 154 to face killers like Murtazaliev, Terence Crawford, Israil Madrimov, Vergil Ortiz Jr., and Serhii Bohachuk.
There would be far more interest from fans in a Boots vs. Murtazaliev fight than there would be for Ennis to take on Chukhadzhian or any of the champions at 147. That would require risk on Ennis’ part, and he doesn’t seem interested in putting his hide on the line against someone with a real chance of beating him.
Bozy isn’t sure whether Boots (32-0, 29 KO) can knockout Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs) if he moves and holds all night. While he is confident that Ennis can cut off the ring on the 28-year-old Chukhadzhian, he can still survive by holding to keep Boots from getting his shots off.
Boots vs. Chukhadzhian will headline this Saturday, November 9th, in their rematch at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The event will be shown live on DAZN. On the chief support bout, WBC super flyweight champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez defends against Pedro Guevara. That fight has a good chance of stealing that show from Boots if he’s unable to figure out Chukhadzhian’s style again.
Boots’ Stock Could Drop
“I feel we shouldn’t have to fight him again. So, I guess he found his way back to the top. He’s the mandatory, and that’s the only reason why we’re taking it. Other than that, we wouldn’t be taking it,” said Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis to YSM Sports Media about his unhappiness about Boots Ennis needing to fight Karen Chukhadzhian again.
Ennis has no choice but to abide by the IBF’s rules to fight his mandatory Chukhadzhian if he wants to keep his title with their organization. Again, this is a problem that could easily be solved if Ennis vacated and moved up to challenge IBF junior middleweight champion Murtazaliev. He might be the underdog in that fight, and it is a much different situation for the young fighter.
“The one you normally see, but this time it’s all business. He’s not going to be running after him,” said Bozy when asked what type of Boots Ennis fans will see on Saturday night in his rematch with Chukhadzhian. “He’s going to cut the ring off on him.
“But if you cut the ring off on someone, but if they’re trained to survive, it’s still going to be hard to get him. Once you cut the ring off, he’s going to grab you and tie you up anyway. So, you have to be smart, use a lot of fakes, and do a lot of different things that you didn’t do before.
“I hope he does be a stationary target this time because he wouldn’t be no problem for us,” said Bozy about wanting Chukhadzhian to stand his ground to be there for Boots Ennis to hit on Saturday. “If you come to fight, let’s fight. If you want to dance, we want to dance with him.”
Chukhadzhian won’t be stationary because he’s not physically equipped for that kind of a battle against Boots Ennis. If Chukhadzhian had Julian Jackson-type power, he’d gladly stand his ground and take Boots’ head off at the shoulders. That’s not the reality of the station. So, Karen will use his technical skills to make Boots look like he’s fighting with two left feet, and his stock will drop once again.
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