That Karen problem has become bigger than ever for Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
The Ring has confirmed that P2M-Box Promotion has won the purse bid for Ennis’ IBF welterweight mandatory title defense versus Karen Chukhadzhian. P2M, Chukhadzhian’s promoter, claimed promotional rights with a bid of $2,000,053.10. Matchroom Boxing, Ennis’ promoter, bid $1,566,666 for the ordered but undesirable rematch.
Ennis is already targeted to headline a Nov. 9 DAZN show in his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His team was already resigned to the possibility of vacating the IBF title for a move to junior middleweight.
The hard decision would be deemed as a necessity, since there is no interest in the mandatory title fight. Ennis (32-0, 29 knockouts) defeated Ukraine’s Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs) via 12-round shutout for the interim IBF welterweight title last Jan. 7 in Washington, D.C.
An upgrade to full titlist came when Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) was stripped of the belt.
Crawford wiped out Errol Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) via ninth-round knockout last July 29 to fully unify the division. He was summoned by the IBF to face Ennis in a title consolidation bout, but instead gave up the belt due to a contractually bound rematch clause exercised by Spence.
The rematch never happened, and neither Spence nor Crawford have returned to welterweight (or the ring, in Spence’s case).
Ennis defended the full version of the title in a fifth-round knockout of David Avanesyan on July 13 at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia. Avanesyan replaced previously assigned mandatory challenger Cody Crowley, hwho was rejected by the Pennsylvania commission after he failed an eye exam.
While the homecoming was a successful venture for Ennis and Matchroom, he was still on the hook for a mandatory title defense.
Boxing fans who’ve wondered how Chukhadzhian elevated back to the mandatory position have ignored how the game is played. Several fighters passing on IBF-ordered eliminators, which benefitted the 28-year-old contender.
Chukhadzhian claimed the top contender slot after a May 17 decision win over Harry Scarff in Rothenbaum, Germany. The IBF then ordered Ennis-Chukhadzian II on July 31. The negotiation period came and went without a deal in place, which resulted in Tuesday’s purse bid hearing.
A deal was never reached simply because the two sides never had real talks. Matchroom instead sought a more desirable unification bout, the one loophole to trump an ordered mandatory.
The closest they came were extended talks with WBO titlist Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs). However, the two sides wound up roughly $500,000 apart on a number that would get Norman to abandon his current plans.
The 23-year-old from Conyers; Georgia is due to defend his title versus Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas on Nov. 8 in Norfolk, Virginia. The bout will serve as the ESPN+ co-feature to Keyshawn Davis’ homecoming headliner versus Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos.
Ennis’ next move, meanwhile, will be decided in the coming days. The final bid is not validated until the sanctioning body receives two separate percentage deposits and signed bout agreements. Should Ennis vacate, Chukhadzhian would be ordered to face the next highest ranked available contender.
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