On the same day
Jaron Ennis made easy work of Uisma Lima with a first-round knockout win during his 154-pound debut, Ennis' former welterweight rival, who stretched him for 24 rounds, returned for a stoppage win of his own.
Karen Chukhadzhian knocked out Joel Marcos Mafauad in two rounds at the Arena Riga in Latvia on Saturday. Two left hooks and an uppercut were all that Chukhadzhian (26-3, 13 KOs) needed to drop and stop Mafauad (13-2, 5 KOs) in the second.
Chukhadzhian, a 29-year-old Armenian born and bred in Ukraine, has now scored back-to-back wins since dropping a competitive unanimous decision to
Ennis last November as an IBF mandatory challenger.
Chukhadzhian did better against "Boots" Ennis in the rematch than he managed first time around when losing a shutout unanimous decision. Outside of the decision wins against the savvy Chukhadzhian, Ennis has stopped the last 23 opponents he’s faced since 2017.
The former title challenger Chukhadzhian remains a favorite with the sanctioning bodies, as the WBO currently ranks him fourth and the IBF sixth.
Chukhadzhian was also rated by the WBC in the top 15 but dropped out last month and is not ranked in the top 10 of The Ring's rankings across the 147-pound weight class.
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.