Jaron Ennis’ father wasn’t pleased with what he saw at times from his son’s corner the night of November 9. Derek “Bozy” Ennis noticed his son getting hit too much by Karen Chukhadzhian, an opponent the unbeaten IBF welterweight champion shut out on all three scorecards 22 months earlier. Perhaps he couldn’t get up for an underdog the IBF inexplicably forced Jaron Ennis to fight again.

It wasn’t exactly easy for Jaron Ennis to get up for a rematch against an opponent he had already shut out on all three scorecards. Ennis’ options were either to fight Karen Chukhadzhian again or risk the IBF stripping him of its welterweight title. There was not a reasonable justification for the New Jersey-based sanctioning organization ordering Ennis to fight the Ukrainian contender a second time.

Jaron 'Boots' Ennis now has a hard deadline to avoid an undesirable mandatory title defense. The Ring has confirmed that the IBF has scheduled a Sept. 3 purse bid hearing for Ennis' ordered welterweight title fight versus Karen Chukhadzhian. The development comes as the unbeaten Philadelphia native is negotiating a unification bout with WBO titleholder Brian Norman Jr. Whatever progress has been made between the pair of undefeated titleholders will have to escalate prior to the purse bid. A delay can be requested but it would have to be agreed upon by both sides. The fight was ordered on July 31. The lack of discussion between titleholder and second-time challenger suggests little to no talks have taken place in this matchup. Ennis (31-0, 28 knockouts), The Ring's No. 1 rated welterweight [https://www.ringtv.com/ratings/?weightclass=279], is promoted by Matchroom Boxing. Ukraine's Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs) is with Germany-based outfit P2M Box-Promotion. Should the bout move forward, it would come as a rematch to Ennis' twelve-round shutout over Chukhadzhian  last Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C. Ennis won by scores of 120-108 on all three cards to claim the interim IBF welterweight title. It was his first distance fight in six years, while the lone career defeat for Chukhadzhian. Ennis then defended the belt in a ninth-round stoppage of Roiman Villa last July 8 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It came three weeks prior to Terence 'Bud' Crawford's full unification technical knockout win over Errol Spence last July 29 in Las Vegas. Crawford was ordered to face Ennis in a title consolidation bout. The 30-day period elapsed with zero talks having taken place. Crawford's legal team informed the IBF just before the 30-day deadline that they could not commit to the assignment. A contractually bound rematch clause exercised by Spence left The Ring's No. 3-rated pound-for-pound fighter in a jam. Ennis was subsequently named full IBF titlist. One defense has followed, a fifth-round knockout of David Avanesyan. Their July 13 DAZN headliner marked Ennis' DAZN debut and first fight at home in Philly since 2018. Meanwhile, Chukhadzhian made his way back to the number-one slot in the IBF. The 28-year-old contender from Kiev earned a clear-cut points win over England's Harry Scarff in a May 17 IBF title eliminator in Rothenbaum, Germany. The win was his third in a row. Matchroom has a tentative date set aside—Nov. 9—for Ennis' next DAZN headliner. A second fight with Chukhadzhian is a hard sell. A title unification bout with Norman, however, has invigorated social media timelines. The first round of talks began earlier this month, but the two sides were far apart on money. Brunch Boxing's Matthew "Mimosa" Brown reported that the gap was narrowed considerably from Matchroom's follow-up offer [https://www.brunchboxing.com/items-1/brunch-boxing-news-and-notes-roundup-2]. Norman (26-0, 20 KOs), No. 5 at 147 by The Ring [https://www.ringtv.com/ratings/?weightclass=279], has enough leverage to where Matchroom might have to make a devil's deal. However, the unbeaten WBO welterweight titleholder would not be without an option if the fight doesn't happen next. The payday wouldn't be quite the same, but—as reported by The Ring—the failsafe is a slot on Keyshawn Davis' No. 8 homecoming card in Norfolk, Virginia. It would mark the worst case scenario from all this, but would still put Ennis and Norman on the same timeline. Their fights would land one night apart, which could be used to further build momentum towards a desirable unification bout. That said, most in the industry are rooting for a drastic turn of events between now and Sept. 3. Follow @JakeNDaBox [https://twitter.com/JakeNDaBox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] [ad_dropper zone_id="22397"]

Jaron 'Boots' Ennis once again has Karen problems. It's not the scorn of a bitter old white woman standing in the way of the unbeaten IBF welterweight titlist. Rather, the current roadblock in his path is previously conquered foe Karen Chukhadzhian. Ennis was ordered to defend the title versus the Ukraine-born Armenian boxer, who is the current mandatory challenger. The Ring confirmed that the bout was ordered on July 31, and is likely to move forward. Matchroom Sport chairman and 5k run aficionado Eddie Hearn confirmed in an interview with Charlie Parsons that the fight is on course to take place November. Philadelphia is the targeted destination, which would mark a second straight hometown headliner for Ennish (31-0, 28 knockouts), The Ring's No. 1 rated welterweight. Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KOs) is unranked by The Ring, but is No. 1 in the eyes of the IBF, which is all that matters in this scenario. The 28-year-old contender from Kiev soundly outpointed England's Harry Scarff in a May 17 IBF title eliminator in Rothenbaum, Germany. The win was his third straight since a lopsided defeat to Ennis last Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C. Ennis won every round of their interim IBF welterweight title fight (120-108 across the board). It marked the first time in six years that Ennis went to the scorecards, ending a 20-fight streak. Of that run, Ennis stopped 19 opponents, along with one No-Contest. Two stoppage victories have since followed for Ennis, along with an upgrade to full titleholder. He battered Roiman Villa in a ninth-round technical knockout last July 8 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The interim title defense was the closest he was afforded to a home game in nearly five years to that point. Ennis was subsequently named full IBF titlist later in the year. He was due to challenge undisputed champion Terence 'Bud' Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) in a title consolidation bout. Crawford's team waited until the end of the negotiation period to plead their way out of the matchup. The three-division champ was contractually bound to a rematch clause exercised by Errol Spence (28-1, 22 KOs), which prevented him from entering any other fight. Crawford battered Spence in a ninth-round technical knockout to fully unify the welterweight titles last July 29 in Las Vegas. Their rematch never saw the light of day. Crawford has since also relinquished the WBC and WBO welterweight titles. The switch hitter from Omaha, Nebraska was also removed as Ring champion as he now holds the WBA 154-pound title. Matchroom Boxing made the hometown headliner dream happen shortly after they signed the prodigious talent. Ennis defeated veteran contender David Avanesyan via fifth-round stoppage on July 13 at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia. IBF rules covering mandatory title fights and final eliminators forbid participants from entering other contests during that time. That said, Matchroom has attempted to explore other possibilities for Ennis. An offer was reportedly extended to WBC titleholder Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs), No. 3 at 147. Ennis' name was also mentioned by Turki Alalshikh as a potential next opponent for interim WBC 154-pound titleholder Vergil Ortiz. Neither scenario seemed realistic at first glance. It is now even less so as the deadline looms for Ennis and Chukhadzhian to reach an agreement. Ennis was left with his mandatory title defense obligation when Cody Crowley was forced out of their scheduled July 13 bout. Crowley was medically disqualified by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission due to fluid accumulation in his right eye. The unbeaten Canadian southpaw had double eye surgery last November and still unable to fight in July as a result. Follow @JakeNDaBox [https://twitter.com/JakeNDaBox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] [ad_dropper zone_id="22397"]

Karen Chukhadzhian is back in the title picture. A shot at the full IBF welterweight belt is now in store after a twelve-round, unanimous decision over England's Harry Scarff. Ukraine's Chukhadzhian won by scores of 116-112 across the board in their final eliminator Friday evening at Hotel Elysee in Rothenbaum, Germany. Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 knockouts) is now the mandatory challenger to unbeaten titlist Jaron 'Boots' Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs). Such a fight would serve as a rematch to their meeting last January 6, won by Ennis via lopsided unanimous decision. That bout came with the interim IBF title at stake. Ennis was since upgraded to full beltholder and next defends versus Cody Crowley on July 13 in his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Now waiting in the wings is Chukhadzhian, who conquered Scarff's early activity with greater accuracy. The first half of the bout was sloppy and with a few momentum shifts. Chukhadzhian suffered early swelling around his eye but it never became a factor over the long haul. Scarff's best moments came in the rounds where he made things uncomfortable for Chukhadzhian. That approach kept the fight relatively close through six rounds. Chukhadzhian pulled away over the back half of the fight through body work and clean punching. A last gasp was offered by Scarff in the eleventh, when he invested more in his power shots. Chukhadzhian adjusted and closed strong to seal his third consecutive win. Scarff fell to 13-3 (3 KOs). The loss snapped a four-fight win streak for the 30-year-old from Derby, England. Chukhadzhian is expected to take one more stay-busy affair before the IBF orders the mandatory title fight. That opportunity will mark his return to the U.S., provided that Ennis gets past Crowley. The unbeaten titlist has become a marketing priority for Matchroom Boxing, who signed Ennis earlier this spring. Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow @JakeNDaBox [https://twitter.com/JakeNDaBox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] [ad_dropper zone_id="22397"]