Jaron Ennis has eyes on junior middleweight: ‘That weight is poppin’ right now’

IBF welterweight belt holder Jaron Ennis is next scheduled to defend his title against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9 in a homecoming fight at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Should the heavy favorite Ennis, 32-0 (29 KOs), successfully get past Chukhadzhian, 24-2 (13 KOs), in the rematch, “Boots” will either be banging on the table calling for welterweight title unification fights or moving on to the junior middleweight division.

The IBF backed Ennis into a corner and forced the Chukhadzhian rematch even after Ennis scored a shutout decision win against the Armenian from Ukraine last year.

“Vacating the belt wasn’t a thought in my mind,” Ennis told BoxingScene. “I was just staying in the gym, staying focused and doing what I needed to do to get better. I wasn’t worried about what was going on in the outside. I let my team handle all of that.

“I want to stay busy and collect the rest of these belts. If they are playing around, maybe we’ll be at 154 pounds, maybe not. We’ll see.

“I’ve been chasing everybody. I’ve been chasing Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jnr, Keith Thurman – I’ve been chasing all of these guys. Ask Crawford. Ask them.

“That weight is poppin’ right now. Everybody up there. Hopefully you might see me up there. You never know. They are all great fighters, but I really can’t pick who’s the best.

“Hopefully these guys will step up and sign on the dotted line. These are the fights everybody wants to see.”

Outside of the top guys at 154 pounds, Ennis first wants to face current 147lbs titleholders Mario Barrios (WBC), Brian Norman Jnr (WBO) and Eimantas Stanionis (WBA), and accomplish the same undisputed champion feat that his predecessor Crawford did. 

In the meantime, the Philadelphia-born and bred Ennis will take advantage of yet another homecoming while joining forces with junior bantamweight titleholder Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, his Boots Promotions fighters, Ismail Muhammad and Dennis Thompson, as well as former champion Raymond Ford and sure-fire future title contender Ernesto “Tito” Mercado as they throw their names in the hat to be considered the next faces of the sport. 

“It’s phenomenal and a blessing to be fighting at the Wells Fargo Center,” said Ennis. “The whole card is crazy from top to bottom, with one of the pound-for-pound greats in Rodriguez, contenders and prospects. It’s going to be a great show and filled with fireworks.

“It’s great for boxing when you have two of the top guys on the same card. Bam and I together will make it a powerful night, bringing both of our fan bases together. We’re going to have a good time.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.