Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez will be in the spotlight tonight, hoping to shine in their respective fights at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) defends his IBF welterweight title in a rematch against mandatory challenger Karen Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs) in the headliner.
(Credit: Amanda Westcott/Matchroom Boxing)
Tonight’s event will be shown live on DAZN at 7:00 pm ET. Live updates and results will be shown below.
The 27-year-old Boots has a history with Chukhadzhian, after beating him by a 12-round unanimous decision last year on January 7 in Washington, D.C. Chukhadzhian, 28, has worked his way back into the mandatory position with three straight wins over undisputed opposition. , defeated these fighters: Harry Scarff, Michael Marcano, and Pietro Rossetti.
At 7:00 pm ET on DAZN – Main Card
- Jaron “Boots” Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) vs. Karen Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs). In the headliner, Ennis defends against Chukhadzhian in a fight that failed to ignite the passion of the fans. After the trouble Chukhadzhian gave Boots last year in his first fight, Ennis needs to score a knockout to show people that he is better than what he showed last time.
- Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KO) vs. Pedro Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KO): Undefeated WBC super flyweight champion “Bam” Rodriguez defends against Guevara in the main event. It may come down to Bam to save tonight’s card if Ennis fails to live up to the billing in the main event.
- Raymond Ford (15-1-1, 8 KOs) vs. Orlando Gonzalez (23-2, 13 KOs). Former WBA featherweight champion Ford, 25, will fight for the first time since losing his title to Nick Ball via a 12-round split decision on June 1. Ford faces the 29-year-old Gonzalez, who has won his last five fights.
- Khalil Coe (9-0-1, 7 KOs) vs. Manuel Gallegos (20-2-1, 17 KOs). Light heavyweight Coe, 28, will be looking for another knockout in another building fight for him against Gallegos.
- Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (16-1, 11 KOs) vs. Gian Garrido (11-1, 8 KOs). Middleweight Williams, 28, looks to be recovering from suffering an 11th-round knockout of Hamzah Sheeraz on June 1 in Riyadh. This fight is a confidence-boosting match for Williams against the 26-year-old Garrido, who was narrowly defeated last year in the second round.
Fans question the decision of the IBF to install Chukhzadzhian as mandatory at 147 for Boots after victories over these three obscure fighters, none of whom are known to fans. Normally, contenders are expected to face highly ranked fighters to earn a mandatory position. In the case of Chukhadzhian, it did not happen.
WBC super flyweight champion ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) defends against interim champion Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) in the main support battle on tonight’s card. Bam, 24, has gained a lot of notoriety over the past two years by beating older former world champions, with wins over Juan Francisco Estrada, Carlos Cuastras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
Guevara, 35, has won his last two fights after losing to Cuadras via a 12-round unanimous decision last year on November 17. In Guevara’s last two fights, he beat Andrew Moloney and Lamberto Macias to put himself in position for tonight’s fight.
