Big fights on the horizon for ‘Boots’ Ennis after Karen rematch repeat

Plus, Keyshawn’s KO and ‘Bam’ batters Guevara

GOING over old ground is never easy, especially when the man standing in the opposite corner has already spent 36 minutes running for dear life in a previous meeting.

This time, Karen Chukhadzhian didn’t run at all. OK, so he held so much in the Wells Fargo Center main event that he was deducted a point in round 10, but the Ukrainian shaved his head, dyed his beard and stood in the trenches for long spells, catching Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis clean enough to keep things interesting.

Image Credit: Fighting Mag

Settling for another points win was an unexpected conclusion, with many waiting for Ennis to score a rematch knockout. When he dropped Karen with a round five flurry, it seemed to set up a premature ending that never arrived. 

While Chukhadzhian was much better offensively, he also showed good defensive moves, ducking and avoiding more combinations than he was given credit for. 

Ennis wasn’t amazing by his own high standards. Although the job was completed, pesky mandatory removed, and undefeated record maintained, all in one evening’s toil. Keeping active is the key for a fighter who has spent too long in the past growing dusty on the shelf.

If there was one thing that slightly put a dampener on the win, it was the performance of homecoming party pooper parent Derek Ennis, who crashed the room, flicked on the lights and growled repeatedly as Jaron’s pals gathered their illicit gear and scarpered.

An irritable character at the best of times, Ennis Sr’s series of irritated grunts and repetitive information in the corner didn’t help matters. Young Jaron stood sheepishly against the ring post in between rounds, listening to his father’s instructions to “get him out of there” without anything more concrete or specific alongside it.

Ennis needs a big dance partner to bring the best out of him. The Philly fireball takes too many clean shots. The likes of Vergil Ortiz Jr (rumoured opponent for February), Eimantas Stanionis, Brian Norman Jr or even Mario Barrios would exploit that weakness and make for a quality fight. Who wouldn’t be down to see that?

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‘Bam’ busts up Guevara in three

Talking of quality fights, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez splattered Pedro Guevara in three rounds in the Ennis chief supporting role. The superlatives are running out for this magnificent 24-year-old who delivers big in every outing.

Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez’s name is being mentioned, which would place even more shine on Rodriguez’s record. Still, at this advanced stage of his career, I’m not sure how much even Gonzalez has to offer the San Antonio fighter.

It was amusing after the Guevara dismantling when Eddie Hearn discussed the pound-for-pound list, he had ‘Bam’ third and discounted Naoya Inoue because “he ducked Akhmadaliev”. Always good for some banter is Ed.

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Keyshawn Davis crushes Gustavo Lemos in two rounds

While Boots’ return to familiar territory ended with a little less fizz than he anticipated, one night previous, some 270 miles down the coast, Keyshawn Davis was busy sending the Scope Arena crowd home delighted.

Image Credit: Sky Sports Boxing

When Lemos came in six pounds over the contracted weight, the fight seemed temporarily in jeopardy. Unperturbed, Davis agreed to the new terms, rubbed his hands together at a greater slice of the purse, and smashed Lemos in a round two blitz.

Davis even admitted in the post-fight interview that he was surprised at how quickly he found the finishing shots. Looking every inch the burgeoning superstar, Davis is now more than ready for WBO champion Denys Berinchyk, if not his namesake, Gervonta Davis, whom he called out.

Either way, Davis has abundant talent and has been matched accordingly by Top Rank (you can always tell exactly what they think of their fighters by the speed they move them along). Having his two brothers along for the ride means Norfolk, Virginia, could become the new Omaha, Nebraska.

The only thing of interest on the undercard was 20-year-old prospect Abdullah Mason, who has been blowing opponents away for fun. This was his most memorable fight so far, as Mason went in for the kill time and again and got dropped twice for his troubles.

Mason was floored twice and dropped his opponent in an amazing opening session. Once Mason started avoiding the left hook, he returned to the script and banjoed plucky Yohan Vasquez in round two. We can assess or re-assess young Abdullah another time, as this was just frenzied fun of the highest order.

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About Steve…

Current existence: Online editor at Boxing News Magazine.

Previous lives: Author (8 books), podcaster (500+ eps), scriptwriter for Motivedia channel, newspaper journalist, copywriter & educator.

Contact: stevenwellings1982@gmail.com