Jaron Ennis met Ukrainian Karen Chukasian for the interim IBF welterweight title on Saturday in the co-main event of the Showtime Pay-Per-View Card at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. When I did it, it was hardly a performance.
One of the brightest young stars in the welterweight division, Ennis was unable to track his offense and display the power that brought him 27 knockouts in his first 29 bouts.
However, Ennis is a multi-faceted fighter and has managed to find a way to win despite failing to get off his best.
Chukajian fought a very defensive fight that proved to be good, frustrating Ennis, who was unable to really open up.
But Ennis never quit the work and the pressure. He took the unanimous decision in the game, but outplayed Chukajian. Ennis said he won all 12 rounds on all three judges’ scorecards, and for the first time he was forced to play the full 12 rounds, so across the board he claimed a 120-108 decision. bottom.
Chukajian’s move gave Ennis some problems, but to be fair he took a lot of clean shots from Ennis. Punching stats showed Ennis power hitting 46% of his shots, but not hitting any shots that came close to a knockdown.
Ennis did a workmanlike job of winning rounds and avoiding big mistakes that could get him into trouble.
“I just learned to take my time,” said Ennis. “I was in no hurry.”
It didn’t win him many new fans, but it kept him undefeated and gave him the belt of the one without much influence. Title holder and pound-for-pound king Terrence Crawford is the WBO champion.
Ennis has said he wants to fight with all his might, but it’s unclear what his path will be.
He showed good form and his defense was enough to almost nullify Chukhadzhian’s jabs. Only 92 of them were successful.
It’s the kind of match that so many aspiring stars have to go through, and if it was Ennis’ least impressive victory, it says something about him. On the night he won all 12 rounds against a strong and smooth opponent.