Jaron Ennis and Jesse Rodriguez pick up wins to retain titles

Jaron “Boots” Ennis defended his IBF welterweight title with a unanimous decision win over Karen Chukhadzhian in a rematch Saturday night in Philadelphia.

Ennis, a Philadelphia native, fought at home for the second straight year. However, unlike that July fight, Ennis failed to impress with a decision victory over Chukhadzhian.

The scores were 119-107, 117-109 and 116-110.

Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) defeated Chukhadzhian in round 5 with a series of body shots. But Ennis was never close to finishing his opponent. According to ESPN BET, he was the -5000 favorite.

“My performance? It was fine,” Ennis said. “I don’t know, man. I think maybe it’s time to address that.” [154 pounds]. … I have a feeling that things will be much better for me with 1954. … I wanted to be better than last time and I wanted to get the knockout. I hurt him a lot and was in a hurry.

Ennis scored a decision over Chukhadzhian in their January 2023 meeting, a fight that did not warrant a rematch.

But the IBF, known for its strange rankings and strict enforcement of mandatory fights, ordered Ennis to fight Chukhadzhian again once he reached the top of the rankings at 147 pounds.

Ennis was coming off a fifth-round TKO against David Avanesyan in July.

Ukrainian Chukhadzhian (24-3, 13 KOs) won three confidence-building fights in a row after losing to Ennis in 2023, including a unanimous decision over Harry Scarff in May.

Rodriguez defeats Guevara in a three-way match

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez defended his WBC 115-pound title with a third-round TKO victory over Pedro Guevara.

Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) knocked Guevara down with a combination in round 3 and then finished him off with a right uppercut at 2:47 of the frame.

“I’m pretty happy [with my performance]but I kind of knew it was going to happen,” Rodriguez said. “I really thought he was going to stand there and fight a little bit more, but he was moving from the start. “You saw who I am tonight.

Rodriguez is ESPN’s No. 7 pound-for-pound boxer. In June, he scored the biggest win of his career, a seventh-round knockout of future Hall of Famer Juan Francisco Estrada. The 24-year-old from San Antonio defended the title he won in Estrada for the first time.

Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) is ESPN’s No. 8 ranked junior bantamweight. The 35-year-old Mexican is a former 108-pound champion. He earned that title shot against Rodriguez with a split decision win over Andrew Moloney in May.

According to ESPN BET, Rodriguez was a -2000 favorite.