Two world title fights will take place in Philadelphia on November 9 as Jaron “Boots” Ennis defends the IBF welterweight title in his hometown against mandatory challenger Karen Chukhadzhian and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez defends his RING/WBC junior bantamweight titles against Pedro Guevara. The event, which will take place at the Wells Fargo Center, will be promoted by Matchroom Boxing and will air live on DAZN. The fight will be the second straight for Ennis (32-0, 29 knockouts) in front of his home fans, following his Matchroom debut this past July when he stopped David Avanesyan after five rounds in what was his first title defense.
Prior to that, Ennis hadn’t fought in Philadelphia since he was a young prospect in 2018. Ennis and Chukhadzhian fought once before, in January of 2023, with Ennis winning an uninspiring shutout over 12 rounds. Since then, the 28-year-old Ukrainian Chukhadzhian has won three straight fights in Europe against limited opposition.
A purse bid was held earlier this month, with Chukhadzhian’s promoter P2M Box winning the bid over Matchroom, which spurred rumors that Ennis would vacate the title and move to 154 pounds. Instead, Ennis will remain at 147 pounds, with a release stating that he still has designs on becoming the undisputed champion of the division. “I’m excited to be back headlining in my city again,” said Ennis in a release.
“I’m ready to continue dominating the division, making a big statement and showing everyone why .