by Keith Idec

PHILADELPHIA – Jaron Ennis entertained his hometown fans at times Saturday night, yet he didn’t necessarily produce a more complete performance against an opponent he dominated 22 months earlier.

The IBF welterweight champion knocked Ukraine’s Karen Chukhadzhian to the canvas in the fifth round, but they went the distance again in their maligned main event at Wells Fargo Center, the home arena of the NBA’s 76ers and the NHL’s Flyers. Chukhadzhian won rounds this time around, as judges Dave Braslow (119-107), Eric Marlinski (117-109) and Steve Weisfeld (116-110) respectively scored 11, nine and eight rounds for Ennis.

Ennis won all 12 rounds on each of the three judges’ scorecards, 120-108 apiece, when they first fought on the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia undercard in January 2023 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

The 27-year-old Ennis nevertheless improved to 33-0 (29 KOs, 1 NC) by winning a mandated rematch that was streamed by DAZN worldwide. The 31-year-old Chukhadzhian slipped to 24-3 (13 KOs), but he has not been knocked out in nine years as a pro.

Chukhadzhian came to fight in their second bout after mostly moving away from Ennis throughout their initial encounter. He landed several flush punches on an unsuspecting Ennis, but he couldn’t hurt the dynamic champion, who was displeased with his own performance against an opponent he had already soundly defeated.

“When you fight bottom-tier guys, you know, sometimes you don’t wanna get up for ‘em,” Ennis told DAZN’s Chris Mannix. “But, you know, I know if I fight a way better guy I’mma be crazy. I’mma be on point, you know? That’s what’s gonna make me better, you know? Not saying he a bad fighter or anything, but I need them top guys.”

Ennis’ goal is to become boxing’s second fully unified welterweight champion of the four-belt era. He will consider moving up to 154 pounds for his next fight if Ennis cannot secure a unification fight with WBO champ Brian Norman (26-0, 20 KOs), WBA champ Eimantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) or the winner of Friday’s fight between WBC champ Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) and Abel Ramos (28-6-2, 22 KOs).

Regardless, Eddie Hearn, Ennis’ promoter, acknowledged that he’ll have to be better defensively against an opponent more dangerous than Chukhadzhian.

“You know, I think a lot of the problem at this level is he’s going in there trying to make it entertaining, with very little regard for what’s coming back,” Hearn told Mannix in the ring. “I thought it was actually a great performance from Chukhadzhian. They said they were gonna give us a real fight this time – they did it. You know, Boots isn’t always switched on like he would be against a fighter that he has the fear factor against.

“I’ve noticed this week he’s been much tighter than normal at 147. Perhaps it is time to move to ‘54. It’s very difficult to do it when you wanna win belts and you hold a world championship. But also, if it’s affecting your performance, you have to move up.”

Hearn mentioned Ennis’ longtime rival, Vergil Ortiz Jr., as a potential opponent if Ennis moves up to the junior middleweight division for his first fight of 2025.

On Saturday night, Ennis’ offensive arsenal was ultimately too much for the challenger to handle.

His right uppercut knocked Chukhadzhian to one knee with 58 seconds to go in the fifth round. Chukhadzhian made it to the sixth round and continued to trade with Ennis.

The physical fight grew ugly at times because Chukhadzhian continually held Ennis to prevent him from landing combinations from close range. Referee Harvey Dock deducted a point from the challenger during the 10^th round for holding.

Dock previously warned Ennis twice for hitting Chukhadzhian below the belt.

They fought again Saturday night because the IBF inexplicably ordered Ennis to face Chukhadzhian after he won an eliminator over Italy’s Pietro Rossetti (then 18-1) in October 2023, only 10 months after Ennis easily beat him.

Chukhadzhian stepped aside and allowed Ennis to fight Russia’s David Avanesyan in his last fight. Ennis stopped Avanesyan (30-5-1, 18 KOs) after five one-sided rounds July 13, also at Wells Fargo Center.