American champions Jaron Ennis and Jesse Rodriguez headlined a Matchroom card on Saturday, November 9, but both fighters carried on to their victories in decisively different manners. While Ennis, who fought in his hometown of Philadelphia, largely struggled at the Wells Fargo Center against Ukrainian opponent Karen Chukhadzhian, Rodriguez might have distinguished himself as the best super flyweight in the world after successfully defending his WBC title in a knockout (KO) victory over Mexican interim champion Pedro Guevara.

Jesse Rodriguez Vs. Pedro Guevara

Fresh off a competitive victory over Mexican former WBC super flyweight (115 lbs) champion Juan Francisco Estrada (44-4, 28 KO’s) that made Jesse Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KO’s) the incumbent WBC champion, Rodriguez was matched with another Mexican fighter in WBC interim champion Pedro Guevara (42-5-1, 22 KO’s)

Deviating away from his last performance in which he had been losing on at least one scorecard, Jesse Rodriguez fully showed his credentials as a two-division world champion as he coursed to a 3rd-round KO win.

The first two rounds went seamlessly in Rodriguez’ favor who pressured well but also showed glimpses of his boxing talent by perfectly timing and countering Guevara. Though Guevara’s primary style focuses on pressuring opponents himself, the Mexican challenger soon found himself overwhelmed by Rodriguez’ fierce offensive arsenal which forced Guevara on the retreat for the majority of the time.

By the 3rd round, Guevara had been broken down by Rodriguez who, in the closing minutes of the 3rd round, landed a debilitating uppercut that immediately floored his opponent and prevented him from getting up―culminating in Rodriguez defending his WBC title in a 3rd round knockout victory.

The win now squarely identifies Jesse Rodriguez as the most dangerous 115-pounder on the planet, and a surefire favorite against any other world champion in the division. Argentinian WBA super flyweight champion Fernando Daniel Martinez (17-0, 9 KO’s) might yet prove to be a match for Rodriguez however, depending on Martinez’ upcoming rematch [rumored for December this year] against Japanese challenger Kazuto Ioka (31-3-1, 16 KO’s).

The WBO 115 lbs title is currently in the grips of recently-crowned South African champion Phumelele Cafu (11-0-3, 8 KO’s)―who conquered the title in a tight split-decision victory over previous holder Kosei Tanaka (20-2, 11 KO’s), while the vacant IBF title previously belonged to Fernando Martinez and will likely be fought over later this year, or in early 2025.

Jaron Ennis Vs. Karen Chukhadzhian

IBF welterweight (147 lbs) champion Jaron Ennis (33-0, 29 KO’s) and Ukrainian challenger Karen Chukhadzhian (24-3, 13 KO’s) competed in a rematch of their 2023 fight, with their title bout serving also as a mandatory bout after Chukhadzhian was made the IBF mandatory earlier this year.

In a direct twist of their first fight, their second [headlining] bout would be the most challenging fight of both fighters’ careers as the two would duke it out for 12 rounds that culminated in Ennis winning by unanimous decision (UD).

Every round seemed to be a tight battle from the onset of the fight, with activity and efficiency becoming key factors in deciding who won each round. Jaron Ennis clearly won the majority of rounds, reflected by the judges’ scorecards of 116-110, 117-109 and 119-107. However, it was far from smooth sailing for the American champion.

Chukhadzhian took up a different approach as last time when he had opted to be more cautious. Instead, the Ukrainian fighter pressured much more and seemed to have made a near full-blown turn from his last fight through his activity.

As a result, Jaron Ennis faced plentiful of struggles as Chukhadzhian’s offense blew through his defense multiple times throughout the fight. To Ennis’ credit, his offensive skills were still prevalent which allowed him to secure multiple rounds and even knock down Chukhadzhian in the 5th round. Furthermore, Chukhadzhian was deducted one point in the 10th for holding, allowing Ennis to grab a decisive victory at the end, but Ennis’ defensive shortcomings saw him rocked several times through the match.

There were several bright spots from Jaron Ennis that displayed his resilience, his conditioning and his own technical acumen when it came to offense―thereby showing glimpses of his potential, but compared to their last fight it was Chukhadzhiain who seems to have made the most progress since their 2023 fight.

Ennis retained his IBF title after being declared the winner by unanimous decision, but doubts have now risen regarding his ability to compete at higher levels following defensive shortcomings and even liabilities on offense where he did not seem capable of finishing the fight after Chukhadzhian suffered a debilitating knockdown and could have been too impaired to continue if pressured correctly.

As mentioned in the post-match press conference, WBC interim super welterweight (154 lbs) champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KO’s) has now been angled as a potential opponent for Jaron Ennis to face next after Golden Boy Promotions owner Oscar De La Hoya revealed interest in making a Matchroom vs. Golden Boy event.

Undercard Results:

American former featherweight (126 lbs) world champion Raymond Ford (16-1-1, 8 KO’s) made his return to the ring following a split-decision (SD) loss to current WBA 126 lbs champion Nick Ball (21-0-1, 12 KO’s). Fighting at super featherweight (130 lbs) this time around, Ford put up a dominant performance against Puerto Rican opponent Orlando Gonzalez (23-3, 13 KO’s), winning every single one of his 10 rounds to net a UD win.

American middleweight (160 lbs) contender Austin Williams (17-1, 12 KO’s) also fought for the first time since losing in his own contest, on the same card as Raymond Ford. Williams fought against fellow countryman Gian Garrido (11-2, 8 KO’s) and displayed a general sense of improved lethality as he coursed to a 5th-round technical knockout (TKO) victory in a fight scheduled for 8 rounds.

An upset also occurred on the Matchroom card as American light-heavyweight (175 lbs) talent Khalil Coe (9-1-1, 7 KO’s) found himself stopped by Mexican contender Manuel Gallegos (21-2-1, 18 KO’s) in the 9th round of their 10-round bout.