IBF Schedules Purse Bid For Ennis Vs. Chukhadzhian Rematch

The IBF has scheduled a purse bid on September 3rd for the rematch between Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Karen Chukhadzhian. IBF welterweight champion Boots Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) is still negotiating a unification fight with WBO champ Brian Norman Jr. If that fight happens, the IBF mandatory Chukhadzhian will have to take a backseat and wait.

Chukhadzhian’s Second Chance

Jake Donovan is reporting the news of the IBF purse bid for the Ennis vs. Chukhadzhian purse bid on September 3rd. Boots already beat Chukhadzhian by a 12-round unanimous decision in January 2023, winning by the scores 120-108 x 3.

Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs) bounced back from that defeat, beating three lower-level fighters to work his way to a rematch. This time, it’ll be for a world title. Fans are eager to see Boots and Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) fight a unification match. That one should have a lot of slugging involved.

Promoter Eddie Hearn needs to deliver the Norman Jr. fight for Boots because it would be a shame if he’s stuck with the rematch with Karan, which no one wants to see.

Ennis recently signed with Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. In his first fight with them, he fought veteran David Avanesyan on July 13th, knocking him out in the fifth round at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Ennis outdid Terence Crawford, who had knocked out Avanesyan with disintegrating gloves in the sixth round in December 2022.

The 154-Pound Question

If Boots can’t get the fight with Brian Norman Jr. for the unification, he needs to think seriously about moving up to 154 because he’s wasting his time staying at 147, trying to slowly round up all four belts to equal Crawford’s feat of becoming undisputed. Crawford only had to beat two people to capture the four belts, defeating Jeff Horn and Errol Spence.

Ennis wants to quickly pick up the four titles before he moves up to 154, but it might not happen as fast as he’d like. Hearn will need to overpay to get WBC champion Mario Barrios and WBA champ Eimantas Stanionis to agree to fight Boots.