A doubleheader between Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Karen Chukhadzhian and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and Pedro Guevara is being discussed for November 9th in Philadelphia.
Boots’ Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, wants to bring him back to Philadelphia for his next fight in November, and he’s talking with Karen’s team about making it for that city. Karen’s promoters won the purse bid to control where to stage the fight, but Hearn could overpay to convince him to fight in Ennis’ hometown in Philadelphia.
WBC super Flyweight champion ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) could be defending against WBC interim champ Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs). That’s obviously not the ideal location for the Texas native Bam to defend his WBC 115-lb title, but if he’s paid well by promoter Eddie Hearn, it will be worth fighting in Philadelphia.
“Bam will fight in the U.S. next. We’re planning a really big show for November in the US. It could be on the East Coast,” said Hearn to iFL TV. “We want to continue the success that we’ve had (with Boots) in Philadelphia. We’re speaking to Karen’s team; we’ll see what’s next.”
If Boots is going to defend his IBF title in a rematch against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9th, he will need a strong co-feature to get fans interested in watching on DAZN. Ennis beat Karen by a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision last January, winning by the wide scores of 120-108 x 3.
Hearn had hoped to swerve Boots Ennis’ IBF-ordered mandatory defense against Karen by fighting a unification against WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. However, Hearn chose not to meet the $2.2 million asking price for Norman Jr. to fight Ennis in Philadelphia.
Norman Sr, Brian Jr’s father, said they would be willing to accept Hearn’s $1.7 million offer if the fight were to be held in a neutral venue in Las Vegas. Hearn didn’t agree to that deal. So, Boots is now stuck defending against Karen in a fight that few fans want to see.
