IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) of Philadelphia was victorious in his homecoming as he won a unanimous Karen Chukhadzhian (24-3, 13 KOs), Ennis scored a knockdown at the end of the fifth as he fought hard for twelve rounds the Ukrainian was game and landed heavy shots as Ennis worked his way to the decision 119-107, 117-109, and 116-110.
“My performance was okay. I don’t know, it might be time to go to 154. I felt good, but I feel at 154 I’m going to be way better…I was prepared for anything he had coming; it didn’t really matter to me.”
“After I dropped [Chukhadzhian] I felt like he was holding ever since then. That’s on me though, I needed to take half a step back, rip those shots, use my angles, and just listen more. My dad was saying everything right and I just wasn’t listening.”
“It means everything, I appreciate everybody that came out and showed their support, even though it wasn't a top guy. Every time I fight here it's going to get bigger and better,” said Ennis on fighting in front of his home crowd for the second straight bout.
"We spoke to His Excellency, it's really just a case of making the fight. I'm sure that I'll get a phone call in the next 10-15 minutes to confirm the fight, we're ready to go for February 22. It's getting tight for Boots at 147 and its probably time to move to 154, and if we do, then Boots vs Vergil Ortiz is the best fight in the sport...It's going to be a lot of fun, I look forward to it.”
When asked about the outcome of the fight Eddie said, “I thought it was a good fight tonight, and by the way I think that [Chukhadzhian] beats most 147 pounders, I think he’s a good fighter. But Boots is just trying to make it exciting, trying to get him out of there, with little regard for what’s coming back. He’s getting hit too much because he’s not really motivated… but against Ortiz it’s going to be different. His performance has to be different, because [Boots] knows, and Bozy knows that performances like that might not be good enough to beat [Ortiz]. But it will be a different performance from Boots too, so don’t worry about that… We may get a substantial offer to fight Virgil Ortiz in Saudi Arabia, and then from there it’s on Jaron and Bozy to decide what’s next. But if you ask me, I think it’s only unification or Ortiz next, that’s it.”
In the co-main event, WBC, and Ring Magazine super flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs) of San Antonio, Texas, scored a third round knockout over Mexico’s Pedro Guevara (42-5-1, 22 KOs). Guevara was knocked down twice in the third round, Rodriguez finished Guevara with a uppercut at the 2:47.
“I’m pretty happy, but I kind of already knew it was going to happen that way. It is what it is. On to the next. I really didn’t expect that [his movement]. I really thought he was going to stand there and fight a little bit more.”
When asked what’s next for him, Rodriguez added, “I feel good, this is my weight class right now. Got a few more fights here and then we’ll see where we go from there…Any unification fight, I’m ready right now.”
Junior lightweight Raymond Ford (16-1-1, 8 KOs) of Camden, N.J., won a decision over Orlando Gonzalez (23-3, 13 KOs) of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Ford, dropped Gonzalez in the second with a right hook, and again in the eighth round with the same punch. Despite being knocked down twice, Gonzalez stayed on his feet for the rest of the fight. Ford worked his way to the decision by scores of 100-88, 100-88, 99-89.
“I feel like the fight tonight went really well,” said Ford. “I just wanted to close the show and get him out of there. This win means a lot to me. It gets me higher in the 130-pound rankings so I can eventually get a shot at a world title.”
Manuel Gallegos (22-2-1, 19 KOs) of Los Mochis, Mexico. scored a seventh round stoppage of Khalil Coe (9-2-1, 7 KOs) Gallegos was finally able to secure the win in the ninth round as the bout was stopped at :07.
“This is a very good division, so I had to train hard. I had a long training camp up in Monterrey with my friends there. I have to thank my trainers that put me through my paces, and I think you saw the fruits of that labor of my long preparation in the ring tonight.”
He added, “I don’t know what’s next but I’m open to all options. I’ll let my promoter, and my team decide, but I’ll face whoever they put in front of me. I’m ready. I’ll stay at this weight. I like the 175-pound division – a lot of opportunities at this weight.”
Kicking off the DAZN broadcast was an exciting middleweight contest between rising star Austin Williams (17-1, 12 KOs) of Houston, Texas, scored a fifth round stoppage of Gian Garrido (11-2, 8 KOs) of Flushing, Queens. .
“Man I feel amazing. I’m a champion. I’m a true champion in every sense of the word…I just came to make a statement and let y’all know I’m back, I’m a champion, and I’m coming for that world championship. Anybody at my weight can get it.”
Fighting in his home city of Philadelphia, welterweight prospect Ismail Muhammad (6-0, 3 KOs) battled against Nelson Morales (5-19, 2 KOs) of Scranton, Pa., in an exciting four-round bout. The fight went the distance and came down to the decision of the judges who unanimously scored in favor of Muhammad (40-36, 40-36, 40-36).
In his professional debut, super featherweight prospect Zaquin Moses (1-0) of Newark, N.J., the cousin of three-division world champion Shakur Stevenson, outpointed Michael Ruiz (1-5) in a scheduled 4-round bout. Moses dominated the contest enroute to unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36).
When asked about entering the ring for the first time as a professional, the three-time national amateur champion replied, “It was a learning experience. This was my first fight, so it was all new to me, the eight ounce [gloves] was new to me, fighting with no headgear was new to me. I never fought without headgear before. I like it better than the amateurs.”
Preliminary action from Wells Fargo Center began with Philadelphia’s own Dennis Thompson (2-0, 2 KOs) defeating Edgar Ortiz Jr. (8-6-2, 4 KOs) of Phoenix, Ariz., in a super bantamweight matchup. Thompson, the 19-year-old southpaw, quickly earned a TKO victory over Ortiz at 2:59 in the second round.
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