The Flair in the House! – Ennis Beats Chukhadzhian – Rodriguez Stops Guevara
By: George H. Hanson Jr., Esq.
Date: Saturday, November 9, 2024
Venue: The Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Promoters: Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport & Boots Promotions
Ring Announcer: David Diamante
Referees: Shawn Clark, Eric Dali, Harvey Dock & Ricky Gonzalez
Editor: Dr. Yulanda Essoka
Coverage: DAZN
Commentators: Chris Mannix, Sergio Mora & Todd Grisham
Photos: Larry Dixon & Ray Bailey
It has been a momentous week with United States Vice-President Kamala Harris losing the election to former President Donald Trump on Tuesday – only in America. Only in Amerikkka can a convicted felon – a disciple of skullduggery – rise to the highest political office in the nation. Then again, Trump is a racist white billionaire – handed everything from birth – masquerading as a man of the people.
Thus, tonight’s eight-bout card featuring Philadelphia’s hometown hero, IBF Welterweight Champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis (32 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 29 kos) making his second title defense against Karen Chukhadzhian (24 wins – 2 losses – 0 draws – 13 kos) of the Ukraine, was a well-needed respite from the travesty of an orange rogue being re-elected. I arrived at approximately 5:00 PM and parked in Lot H making my way to the media entrance at the corner of Lot E and F. Everything went smoothly, and I found my seat in the front row almost directly behind Chukhadzhian’s corner.
With a little over 10,000 in attendance, four thousand less than the 14,119 fans who witnessed Boots’ first title defense – a fifth-round stoppage of David Avanesyan on July 13th – the IBF Champion made his ring walk led by rapper G Herbo – bopping and bouncing to a song that was unrecognizable to me. The hometown fans cheered raucously as he made his way into the ring to join Chukhadzhian and his handlers who had been waiting patiently for over fifteen minutes.
Referee Harvey Dock called both combatants and their handlers to the center of the ring, gave the requisite instructions and shortly thereafter the gong sounded for the opening round. The switch-hitting Ennis began in the orthodox stance working effectively behind his jab – stalking the Ukrainian. With almost a minute expiring, Ennis switched effortlessly to the southpaw stance, keeping the pressure on his adversary who countered to match his output. I scored the opening round for the champion who was simply busier.
The fight continued at the same pace and tempo with Boots coming forward appearing oblivious to the art of defense – getting hit more than we have ever witnessed . Yet, he was winning round after round. In the fifth stanza he unleashed a vicious combination to the head and body that forced Chukhadzhian to wisely take a knee – go to the canvas to evade further punishment and recuperate- a veteran move that probably saved him from an inevitable knockout loss. He was upright when Referee Dock reached the count of eight and checked his vitals and the fight resumed. The bell sounded shortly thereafter ending the round.
There is an adage “familiarity breeds contempt” – thus I am confident that Karen in his second encounter with Boots – studied all his tendencies and was well-prepared. He learned from their first fight – January 7, 2023, on the undercard of Gervonta Davis’s ninth round technical knockout of Hector Garcia at Capital One Arena in Washington DC. Ennis pitched a shut-out winning all twelve rounds, 120-108 – a unanimous decision for the IBF Interim Welterweight title. Therefore, Chukhadzhian was ready for all that would be coming his way.
We are so accustomed to Boots having spectacular knockouts while looking like he was auditioning for the lead role in “The Matrix” that many were surprised that this fight made it to the final bell after what transpired in the fifth round. Yes, Chukhadzhian survived and fought valiantly – giving hope to many who have avoided the extra-terrestrially talented Ennis! I scored the ninth round for Chukhadzhian simply because he was a tad busier than his opponent. This was somehow short-lived when he was penalized a point for excessive holding in the tenth round. Referee Dock had seen enough and was justified in his decision. Ennis captured the last two rounds on my scorecard. One judge had it 119-107, identical to my scorecard, with the other two tallying 117-109 and 116-110 – a unanimous victory decision for the Philadelphian who retained his IBF Welterweight title for the second time.
No, it wasn’t his best performance. I am not one to speculate, hyperventilate, regurgitate or even hesitate, allow me to get to the point – by his own admission at the post-fight press conference Boots stated that he did not listen to the instructions from his father/trainer – Derek “Bozy” Ennis – a boxing savant with a PHD in Pugilism. He seemed more preoccupied with fans and social media personalities perched at ringside yelling instructions – garnering his attention. Whatever caused this – I must remind him that none of these people were at his amateur fights when he was a pint-sized pugilist attempting to follow in his elder brothers’ footsteps. I saw the same four people at all your amateur and professional fights – two brothers, mom and dad. Do not take for granted that you were born into an exceptional and loving family. Therefore, I highly recommend that the family get together and correct whatever caused the lack of focus. Social media celebrities and all these newly minted “friends” came on board when you were knocking on the door of the IBF championship.
The bar has been set so high for Jaron Ennis that even on his “worst” night he can dominate on the scorecards and still be criticized. Hopefully, this performance will give hope to many marquee fighters – the temerity to risk their health and inevitable embarrassment against Philadelphia’s Favorite Son! I am confident that Boots will stop all the other belt holders in the welterweight division – Mario Barrios (WBC), Eimantas Stanionis (WBA), and Brian Norman Jr (WBO).
However, the fight that I am anxiously awaiting is Boots versus fellow Philadelphian Blair “The Flair” Cobb (17 wins – 1 loss – 1 draw – 10 kos) who was omnipresent at the post-fight press conference making a compelling argument for an “All-Philly War.” Many forget that Cobb grew up in Philadelphia, dubbed the City of Brotherly Love, and has always been “The Flair” – an entertaining and extremely marketable iconoclast who marches to the beat of his own drum. Hell, if you put the image of “The Flair” on a bottle of Jamaican Jerk Sauce, it will fly off the shelves! This fight will be much bigger than both of Boots’ title defenses at this venue – it would be massive! After all, The Flair defeated two former World Champions in his last two fights – Maurice Hooker and Adrien Broner! He even morphed into a dentist – extracting one of Broner’s teeth in the process! “Boots vs. The Flair” would be a blockbuster!
WBC World Super-flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (20 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 13 kos) from San Antonio, Texas – stole the show in the co-main event – the seventh fight of the night – a scheduled twelve-round title defense against Pedro Guevara (42 wins – 4 losses -1 draw – 22 kos) from Sinaloa, Mexico. The twenty-four-year-old baby-faced assassin who looks like a middle schooler was a gloved sniper – demolishing and dismissing his adversary with power and precision.
Bam boxed brilliantly at the opening bell, working behind his jab, going downstairs to the body- systematically breaking down the thirty-five-year-old Guevara like a cheap cardboard box – dropping him twice in the third round – forcing referee Ricky Gonzalez to call a halt to this one-sided affair. Rodriguez became the first boxer to stop Guevara, and it reminded me of the great Michael Gerard Tyson’s vernacular since “Bam’s style was impetuous, his defense was impregnable, he was Salvador Sanchez, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Julio Cesar Chavez rolled into one!”
Kudos to trainer Robert Garcia who has done a remarkable job imparting his knowledge to his young pupil. There is no question that Bam is the leading candidate for the “Pound for Pound Best Fighter on the Planet.”
In the opening bout of the night, Boots Promotions’ nineteen-year-old Philadelphia junior-featherweight Dennis “Quiet Storm” Thompson (2 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 1 ko) scored an impressive second round technical knockout at 2:59 against Edgar Ortiz Jr. (8 wins – 5 losses – 2 draws – 4 kos) of Phoenix, Arizona. Thompson, who holds a full-time job at the Philadelphia International Airport, fought like he was on his lunch break and had to report back to work in fifteen minutes. He answered the bell behind a stiff jab going downstairs to Ortiz’s ribcage with some vicious hooks. Standing 5 feet 7 inches with long arms – the Philadelphian towered over his opponent who was listed as three inches shorter. Please don’t accuse me of being nostalgic, but Thompson evoked fond memories of the great five-division World Champion – Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns as he fired his jab then immediately attacked Ortiz’s ribcage. To his credit, Ortiz countered while retreating. However, his small 22-pistol revolver was no match for the Gatling gun discharged by the Quiet Storm!
Thompson dominated the second round with some vicious body shots causing Ortiz to fight in a defensive posture – covering up to evade punishment. I doubt that I was the only one in press-row that believed that we were not going to the scorecards to determine the winner of the scheduled four-rounder. With approximately fifteen seconds remaining in the round, Thompson pinned Ortiz in a corner and unloaded with everything in his arsenal – to the head and body – forcing Referee Eric Dali to jump in and rescue the impaired boxer from further punishment – a trip to the canvas comatose and motionless. It was a necessary stoppage.
With his cousin, Shakur Stevenson, WBC World Lightweight champion and three-division world champion, perched at ringside, nineteen-year-old southpaw junior-lightweight Zaquin Moses of Newark, New Jersey joined the punch-for-pay ranks against thirty-two-year-old Michael Ruiz (1 win – 4 losses – 0 draws – 1 ko) of Toms River, New Jersey. It was D.L. Moody, American Evangelist, who stated that “Moses spent 40 years thinking he was somebody, 40 years learning he was nobody, and 40 years discovering what God can do with a nobody.” Well tonight Zaquin Moses needed only four rounds for us to know that he is somebody – following in the footsteps of his accomplished kin! The young pugilist is now on our radar after boxing exceptionally in the second bout on the card, stalking his opponent, working effectively behind the jab, going to the body – cutting off the ring – performing like a veteran – pitching a shut-out – 40-36 on all three scorecards in a four-rounder.
Moses, who defeated junior-welterweight prospect Curmel Moton in an amateur bout, was a smooth operator – making the transition effortlessly to the professional ranks. He answered the opening bell using his jab to the head and body – a female fan yelled, “He ain’t got shit for you Zaquin!” – evoking much laughter from the audience. To his credit, Ruiz fought back, but Moses was just too fast and defensively talented to get caught with anything of consequence. It was textbook boxing by the teenager whose dominance in the third round forced Referee Clark to visit Ruiz’s corner before the start of the final round to check on him. In the fourth round Moses’ control continued, so we must give Ruiz credit for making it to the bell. Congratulations to Moses – you are now on everyone’s radar.
In the fifth bout – the upset of the night – was undefeated WBC USA Light-heavyweight champion Khalil “Big Steppa” Coe (9 wins – 0 losses – 1 draw – 7 kos) from Flemington, New Jersey who visited the canvas four times – once in round five, seven, eight and nine in a scheduled ten-rounder against Manuel Gallegos (20 wins – 2 losses – 1 draw – 17 kos) of Sinaloa, Mexico forcing referee Eric Dali to call a halt seven seconds into the ninth round – declaring the Mexican the winner by technical knockout.
The extremely talented Coe – the only boxer to score a knockout victory in the amateurs over 2016 and 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist Julio Cesar De La Cruz Peraza of Cuba – was impressive in his last outing – July 13th – on the undercard of Boots’ fifth round stoppage of David Avaneysan at the same venue. And he began in similar fashion in the opening round – boxing gracefully – landing to the body and head – connecting with three counter straight rights. Coe’s jab was the key to keeping Gallegos at a distance – who marched forward.
Standing 6 feet 3inches – four inches taller than Coe – it is unbelievable that the twenty-seven-year-old Gallegos joined the professional ranks on October 31, 2014, as a junior-welterweight – thirty-five pounds south of his weight tonight. In his last fight on July 7th – he was stopped in the fourth round by undefeated super-middleweight contender Diego Pacheco. Therefore, it was reasonable to assume that this would be a good test for Coe because of the twenty-three-fight experience of Gallegos. Someone forgot to tell Gallegos that he was simply a test he because captured the second round on my scorecard fighting with much confidence -walking down his opponent fighting on even terms in the third- hurting him in the fourth round with a right uppercut in the last minute – pouring it on until the bell.
As we say in colloquial terms – the Titanic hit the iceberg – as Gallegos sent Coe to the canvas with a vicious left hook to the liver with one minute and forty seconds remaining in the fifth round. Referee Dali reached the count of eight as the fallen fighter made it to his feet and the action resumed with the combatants slugging it out to the bell. During the one-minute break – I thought federal agents were about to rush into the ring because Coe’s trainer entered the squared-circle with his sweatpants far below his waist revealing about 300 lbs. of crack! I am sure Fleece Johnson – “The Booty Warrior” was watching the broadcast, close to his flat screen licking his chops.
The sixth round was close with Coe switching intermittently between the orthodox and southpaw stance boxing from a distance with his jab. Gallegos pressed the action keeping Coe on his back foot huffing and puffing while retreating. Following his corner’s instructions, Gallegos concentrated on the body. Thirty seconds into the seventh round, Coe uncorked a vicious right. However, Gallegos walked through it unaffected – pressing the action as Coe motored around the ring fighting from both stances. With fifty seconds remaining in the round Coe took a second trip to the canvas -compliments of a right hook to the temple from Gallegos. Up at the count of nine – Coe was able to make it to the end of the round on somewhat unsteady legs forcing the referee to visit his corner.
The fight continued in similar fashion in the eighth round with Gallegos sending Coe to the canvas with a right to the breadbasket – Referee Dali tolling eight before he was upright, and the now one-sided battle resumed. Coe stayed on the outside followed by the now dominant opponent. Gallegos pressed the action, pinning him on the ropes pushing him to the canvas with thirty seconds remaining. Somehow an exhausted Coe made it to the end of the round. Again, Referee Dali visited his corner asking if they want to stop the fight stating, “I am going to give you one more chance.” Coe’s corner asked him if he wanted them to stop and he shook his head dissentingly. I told everyone in press row that the Coe’s handlers should stop the fight and not send him out for the ninth round.
The gong sounded and Coe in somewhat of a daze, beaten and broken, made it off the stool to the center of the ring. Gallegos attacked immediately with a rapid-fire combination forcing Coe to take a knee as referee Dali waived off the action – signaling the end of the fight – declaring Gallegos the winner by technical knockout – seven seconds into the tenth round.
According to Eddie Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom Sport, Coe’s promoter –
“Khalil struggled with weight. If you don’t get your weight right, if you don’t condition yourself, you are going to find tough times in a fight. And if you can’t come through, you are going to get beat. That’s what happened to Khalil Coe tonight. He will be back, but he got to learn a spiteful lesson.”
It is evident that Coe is an extremely gifted and talented fighter. However, if Hearn’s allegations are correct then he doesn’t have a weight issue – he is undisciplined. Oftentimes many hot prospects place too much emphasis on their God-given talent instead of the hard work and laser focus that are necessary to make it and stay at the top of their profession. Hopefully, this is a wake-up call for Coe because one fight doesn’t decimate an extremely promising career. Get a nutritionist – stick to an optimal diet and always be at your best.
We do know by now that anytime Boots Promotions’ welterweight Ismail “The Chef” Muhammad (5 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 3 kos) is on the card; someone is going to get cooked – broiled with boxing gloves – served to the audience as a delightful delicacy. His opponent Nelson “Baby Face” Morales (5 wins – 18 losses – 0 draws – 2 kos) from Scranton, Pennsylvania by way of the Dominican Republic was first in the ring and shadow boxed for approximately ten minutes before leaving only to return thirty minutes later for the commencement of the fight – third bout on the card. I am assuming that because this was the fight before the live broadcast on DAZN this was a production delay for everything to align.
Despite losing every round and the fight 40-36 on all three scorecards, the thirty-two-year-old Morales was competitive – merely semi-cooked by “The Chef” who controlled the action with his jabs and hooks to the body. I can’t confirm or deny that this bout was originally scheduled for six rounds but was cut to a four rounder. If that was the case, it adversely impacted Muhammad who appeared to be just warming up in the final round. Morales threw his straight right with bad intentions throughout the fight but was unable to penetrate the well-vaunted defense of the Philadelphian. In the third round, Muhammad momentarily rocked Morales with a right hook and straight left. However, the Dominican owns a sturdy chin and was in optimal shape – able to display great recuperative powers and recover quickly. Muhammad finished the bout with some tremendous body blows in the final fifteen seconds of round four much to the delight of the hometown fans. It was another great performance by the twenty-two-year-old Muhammad who is developing rapidly and will be atop the division in two or three years.
The DAZN live broadcast began with the fourth bout featuring middleweight prospect Austin “Ammo” Williams (16 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 11 kos) of Houston, Texas in a scheduled eight-rounder against Gian “Double G” Garrido (11 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 8 kos) of Flushing, Queens, New York. In his last fight on June 1, 2024, the southpaw Williams suffered his first setback – a fifth-round knockout loss to undefeated prospect Hamzah Sheeraz of the United Kingdom, for the WBC Silver Middleweight title on the undercard of Deontay Wilder’s loss to Zhilei Zhang in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This was a “bounce back” or redemption fight for Williams to determine if his loss was an anomaly or a sign that he doesn’t possess the talent to climb to the top of the division and win a world title.
As my trainer once told me after a loss – “this is a misdemeanor – you missed this one -now you are meaner!” I don’t know the contributing factors to Williams’ demise back in June. Tonight, it was clear that Ammo is back on track as he answered the opening bell boxing on the outside – stabbing and sticking Garrido to the head and body with the right jab and occasionally landing the straight left as his opponent came forward with a high guard. In the second stanza with less than a minute expiring, Williams buckled Garridon’s legs with a punishing right hook. The New Yorker did a quick version of the “Stanky Leg” dance, he leaned with it, but he didn’t drop with it – he did switch to the other leg and stopped with it – realigning himself, showing incredible recuperative powers. Garrido was able to avoid further punishment and survived the first round.
He continued his forward march with Williams demonstrating his impeccable boxing abilities using his right jab to control the pace and tempo. Who said Ammo was simply a puncher? Williams is well-versed in the art of boxing – hitting without being hit. Garrido was fantastic in the fourth stanza as Williams parked his bicycle and fought toe-to-toe, appearing somewhat fatigued as Garrido garnered the round on my scorecard. Maybe I had spoken too soon because early in the fifth round, Williams went back to boxing from the outside until he caught Garrido with a straight left then attacked like a man possessed by demons. He accidentally pushed Garrido to the canvas -a much-needed break for the New Yorker. Referee Harvey Dock wiped his gloves and Williams immediately unleashed the heavy ammo snapping Garrido’s head backwards forcing Dock to call a halt to the fight – protecting him from serious damage. Williams was declared the winner by technical knockout at 1:04 of the fifth round. Ammo Williams is back!
In the sixth bout of on the card – a battle of southpaws – former WBA Featherweight champion Raymond “Savage” Ford (15 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 7 kos) of Camden, New Jersey moved up a division and captured the WBA Continental Super-featherweight title – winning a ten-round unanimous decision 100-88 twice and 99-89 – over Orlando “Capu” Gonzalez (23 wins – 2 losses – 0 draws – 13 kos) of Puerto Rico. Last fight, June 1, 2024 – the first defense of his world title which he won two months earlier– Ford lost a twelve-round split-decision to Nick Ball in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Camden native captured the vacant WBA Featherweight belt on March 2, 2024, via a twelfth-round technical knockout over rough and rugged Otabek Kholmatov of Uzbekistan. After that epic battle it was too early to put Ford back in the ring in another tough fight.
With the jump to another weight class, Ford was extremely sharp on both ends – offensively and defensively – controlling the action from bell-to-bell outboxing and out-working the Puerto Rican round after round pitching a shut-out on my scorecard. Ford used his jab followed by quick combinations and excellent defense – picking off Gonzalez’s counterattack in mid-air. Ford sent Gonzalez to the canvas with a well-placed right hook, about a minute remaining in the second round. Somewhat shaken, Gonzalez was upright as Referee Clark reached the count of five, wiped his gloves – checked his vitals and signaled for the action to resume. Gonzalez hopped on his bicycle and made it out of the round.
Ford played to the audience in the third round by pretending to dribble a basketball between his legs before unleashing a combination. The rounds were almost identical with Ford out-boxing his adversary – one step ahead – his defensive wizardry on display as he appeared to be untouchable paying homage to M.C Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This.” Ford hit Gonzalez in the sixth round and midway in the seventh stanza with a vicious right hook. Gonzalez survived despite getting his bell rung again in the final ten seconds of the round. Lightning struck twice – as Ford dropped Gonzalez for the second time with a well-timed right hook with twenty seconds remaining in round eight. Kudos to the lion-hearted fighter who was on his feet as Referee Clark reached the count of three – dusted his gloves and the fight resumed. Gonzalez made it to the bell.
With two rounds to the final bell. Gonzalez rode his electric bicycle to the end, motoring around the ring – avoiding the temptation to engage in a showdown with the fast-fisted Ford. I have no problem with the fighter’s survival instincts because I doubt he would have made it to the scorecards had he engaged in a showdown with the former champion. It was an entertaining match, and I am confident that Ford will lay claim to one of the four World Titles in his new division over the next twelve months.
It was an entertaining night of the sweet science, a well-appreciated treat after witnessing that Donald Trump – arguably the least intelligent President of the United States – will be back in the White House early next year. I was somewhat surprised that Judge Lynne Carter was not one of the three magistrates for this show. A judge for 40 years – she is a Philadelphia resident and has seven more years of experience than the most qualified judge – Steve Weisfeld – in tonight’s triumvirate. Equally egregious was Greg Sirb working in some capacity ringside. Sirb allegedly retired September 29, 2023, as Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission Executive Director. The diminutive despot was nomadic, appearing to be on duty. I guess the more things change – the more they remain the same.
Lastly, I am the leading advocate for an All-Philly world title fight – Jaron “Boots” Ennis vs. Blair “The Flair” Cobbs. The casual boxing fans were convinced that Boots vs. Karen Chukhadzhian was the first world title fight with combatants of the opposite gender. Many thought that Karen was a woman – because he isn’t a household name and simply a talented, qualified contender mandated by the IBF. With two notable victories under his belt – Cobbs arguably has a better resume than Chukhadzhian and is more popular. Equally important, I doubt if there is a boxer on the planet who can sell a fight better than “The Flair.” This fight will be a blockbuster and will probably do 40,000 or more tickets at the Liacouras Center. The Flair was in the house!
Continue to support the sweet science, and remember, always carry your mouthpiece.
ghanson18@icloud.com
