Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis says he wants to move up to 154 after struggling to defeat the technically gifted Karen Chukhadzhian last Saturday night in their rematch at 147 in Philadelphia.

If Ennis moves up to 154, he can immediately challenge IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev for his title and show the fans that his problems last night were related to being drained. That was one of Ennis’ excuses for his problems with Chukhadzhian (24-3, 13 KOs).

Chukhadzhian showed the power that no one had ever seen before from him, as he looked like a miniature Artur Beterbiev with some of the shots that he was hitting Ennis with. You could hear Chukhadzhian’s punches landing on Ennis all night to know he was hitting with power.

What kept Chukhadzhian from winning was the activity. He focused too much on landing single potshots rather than overwhelming Boots with activity like undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev does at 175.

Had Chukhadzhian taken at close range and thrown nonstop punches the way Beterbiev does, he would have knocked out Boots last night because he was hitting him with massive shots throughout the contest.

Can Ennis Handle Murtazaliev’s Power?

Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) is possibly the biggest puncher at 154, and he would be a major test for Ennis if he moved up to battle for his IBF belt. It would be a fight where Boots Ennis would need to be more defensively sound, as he couldn’t depend on his chin to take the kinds of shots that Murtazaliev would be dishing out for 12 rounds.

Ennis took a lot of hard, clean shots from Chukhadzhian last Saturday night

Boots and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, spoke about wanting to face WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. next in a Riyadh Season event if the right offer came in. However, it would mean much more if Ennis chose to fight for a full belt against the King of the 154-lb division, Murtazliev, rather than for an interim strap against a fighter coming off a controversial 12-round majority decision win over Serhii Bohachuk on August 10th.

Boots’ Excuses

IBF welterweight champion Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) blamed his problems in the Chukhadzhian fight on three reasons:

1. Lacking pop in his punches: In the post-fight interview, Ennis said that he lacked “pop” in his punches against Karen, and he feels that it would be different if he moved up to 154.
2. Getting older: The 27-year-old Ennis mentioned that he was getting older, and he saw that as a possible reason why he couldn’t deal with Chukhadzhian’s superior skills. Ennis looked like he lacked the skills to deal with the Ukrainian fighter, who had abilities that he didn’t possess. Ennis had never learned the things that Chukhadzhian showed in the fight. Hence, he was schooled, and he won only because of his activity level.
3. Not motivated: Ennis referred to Chukhadzhian as a “Bottom tier” fighter at the post-fight press conference.

Ennis’s excuses for his inept performance were pathetic to behold, and it’s just another example of a fighter unable to face the truth. Given how depressed Ennis looked and sounded after the fight, he knows that Chukhadzhian was the better fighter.

“I think it might be time to go to 154. I feel like at 154, I’m going to be way better, and my pop is going to be how it’s supposed to be. If we could get one of these guys (an elite welterweight) to stop playing, let’s make it happen. But if not, then 154, here I come,” said Jaron Ennis to DAZN after his win over Chukhadzhian last Saturday night.

Murtazaliev isn’t quite as skilled as Chukhadzhian, but he’s not far behind and punches so much harder. He’s got knockout power in either hand, as fans witnessed recently with his third-round technical knockout win over former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu on October 19th in Orlando, Florida.

Ennis would have many problems against Murtazaliev, and it’s questionable whether he’ll make it past the third round with the way he was getting hit by Chukhadzhian.