Ennis-Chukhadzhian rematch a financial nightmare, says Hearn

by Keith Idec

THE last thing Eddie Hearn envisioned after Jaron Ennis established himself as a legitimate ticket-seller in his hometown was to bring the unbeaten IBF welterweight champion back to Philadelphia against a less appealing opponent than David Avanesyan.

Hearn negotiated with handlers for WBO 147-pound champ Brian Norman, but when they couldn’t come to an agreement the Matchroom Boxing chairman determined that their most practical course of action was to proceed with an inexplicably mandated rematch that was forced upon Ennis by the IBF. Ennis’ team discussed moving up to the 154-pound division for his fight Saturday night, yet the 27-year-old Ennis remains determined to become boxing’s second fully unified welterweight champion of the four-belt era.

Accomplishing that goal has required him to move forward with an utterly unnecessary second fight against Ukraine’s Karen Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs), whom Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs, 1 NC) shut out on all three scorecards, 120-107 apiece, in January 2023 on the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia undercard at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

“Listen, financially for us it’s a nightmare,” Hearn told Boxing News. “It is what it is. We’ve got to stack this card. We’ve spent a fortune on the card. But we’re in the Boots business, we’re investing in [him] and I wanna see [him] unify the division before [he] moves to 154. So, we all just decided, let’s get this fight won. Let’s keep active. Let’s fight in February or March. And let’s make sure we get one of the [welterweight] champions [next].”

Seriously selling Ennis-Chukhadzhian II is impossible, thus Hearn tried to stack its undercard with fan-friendly fighters he hopes consumers will want to watch in person or view via DAZN (midnight GMT in the UK; 7 p.m. ET in the United States).

San Antonio’s Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) is scheduled to defend his WBC super flyweight title against Mexican contender Pedro Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) in the 12-round co-feature before Ennis encounters Chukhadzhian again. The undercard will also feature former WBA featherweight champ Raymond Ford (15-1-1, 8 KOs), from nearby Camden, New Jersey, against Puerto Rico’s Orlando Gonzalez (23-2, 13 KOs) in a 10-round bout, unbeaten light heavyweight Khalil Coe (9-0-1, 7 KOs), of Jersey City, New Jersey, versus Mexico’s Manuel Gallegos (20-2-1, 17 KOs) in another 10-rounder and the Matchroom debut of emerging junior welterweight knockout artist Ernesto “Tito” Mercado (16-0, 15 KOs), of Pomona, California, who will oppose Mexico’s Jesus Saracho (14-2-1, 11 KOs) in a bout also slated for 10 rounds.

Ennis’ handlers could’ve requested an exception from the IBF to face an opponent other than Chukhadzhian on Saturday night. Once the Norman negotiations ended, and it became clear WBC champ Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) and WBA champ Eimantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) weren’t alternatives for this fight, Hearn held his nose and moved forward with what he realizes is an unmarketable main event.

“I would rather get [Chukhadzhian] out of the way,” Hearn said. “If we were gonna be forced into this, if we’ve got nowhere to go, let’s just deal with it. You know what I mean? And then fight one of the champions in February. So, that’s what we decided to do. That is why we actually stacked the card like we did. We had such a great night in Philadelphia [on July 13], and we wanted to return there with something compelling. We also understand that, you know, that it’s part of the Boots journey and we’ve got to go and get this guy out of the way.”

The announced attendance for the card headlined by Ennis’ five-round stoppage of Russia’s Avanesyan (30-5-1, 18 KOs) on July 13 was 14,119, the largest indoor crowd for boxing in Philadelphia since the legendary Marvin Hagler beat Bennie Briscoe at the since-demolished Spectrum in August 1978, according to a report posted on The Ring’s website. Hearn anticipates a comparable crowd at the home arena of the NBA’s 76ers and the NHL’s Flyers for Ennis’ second showcase there in less than four months.

“To be honest, we’re selling at a very similar rate than we were last time,” Hearn said. “The response has been great. And we’re not trying to like sugarcoat it. You won’t find me going, ‘Yeah!’ We know he’s going for the knockout. That’s for sure. Last time he couldn’t track him down, the guy ran for 12 rounds. We’ve gotta get a hold of him, beat him up, get him out of there.

“But, by the way, you’re gonna watch ‘Bam’ in a really good fight, you’re gonna watch Ray Ford in a really good fight, you’re gonna watch ‘Ammo’ Williams, you’re gonna watch Khalil Coe. And the response has been really good from Philly. We’re expecting a very similar crowd this time around. And obviously we know commercially that Boots’ fight is not a blockbuster. But with Bam and with the card, I think Philly is educated well enough with their boxing to say, ‘No, this is a big night.’ ”