PHILADELPHIA–It was a little tougher this time, but Jaron Ennis defended his IBF Welterweight title with his second 12-round unanimous decision over Karen Chukhadzhian in almost two years. This time it took place at Wells Fargo Center in Ennis’ hometown of Philadelphia.

The first bout, which took place in January of 2023 saw Ennis cruise to a 12-round shutout in a bout that saw Chukhadzhian bascally run around the ring and not engage. This time Chukhadzhian tried his best and at times have success landing on Ennis. Ennis landed more often and harder and used a two-fisted attack from bot the orthodox and southpaw stances.

In round five, Ennis landed a solid upper cut that put the challenger on the canvas. There were several times that Ennis had Chukhadzhian on the brink of trouble, but the Ukranian was able to fend off just enough to keep further damage from incurring.

In round 10, Chukhadzhian was deducted a point for holding. Chukhadzhian was gritty, but was out gunned by the much more dynamic Ennis.

Ennis landed 224 of 730 punches. Chukhadzhian was 173 of 622.

Ennis, 146 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 118-109, 117-110 and 116-111 to push his record to 33-0. Chukhadzhian, 146 1/2 lbs from Kiev, UKR is 24-3.

After the match, Ennis offered an honest review: “My performance was okay. I don’t know, it might be time to go to 154. I felt good, but I feel at 154 I’m going to be way better…I was prepared for anything he had coming; it didn’t really matter to me.”

“After I dropped [Chukhadzhian] I felt like he was holding ever since then. That’s on me though, I needed to take half a step back, rip those shots, use my angles, and just listen more. My dad was saying everything right and I just wasn’t listening.” 

“It means everything, I appreciate everybody that came out and showed their support, even though it wasn’t a top guy. Every time I fight here it’s going to get bigger and better,” said Ennis on fighting in front of his home crowd for the second straight bout.

Bam Rodriguez Stops Guevara in 2

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez defended the WBC Super Flyweight title with a second round stoppage of Pedro Guevara

In round two, Rodriguez landed a hard left that put Guevara on the canvas. Seconds later, Rodriguez landed a perfect right uppercut on the chin that put Guevara down and the fight was stopped at 2:47.

Rodriguez, 114.8 lbs of San Antonio is 21-0 with 14 knockouts. Guevara, 114.4 lbs of Sinalba, MEX is 42-5-1.

Speaking after the fight, Rodriguez commented, “I’m pretty happy, but I kind of already knew it was going to happen that way. It is what it is. On to the next. I really didn’t expect that [his movement]. I really thought he was going to stand there and fight a little bit more.”

When asked what’s next for him, Rodriguez added, “I feel good, this is my weight class right now. Got a few more fights here and then we’ll see where we go from there…Any unification fight, I’m ready right now.”

Ray Ford Drops Orlando Gonzalez Twice; Cruises to Unanimous Decision

Former Featherweight World Champion Raymond Ford scored two knockdowns en route to a 10-round unanimous decision over Orlando Gonzalez in a junior lightweight bout.

In round two, Ford landed a perfect right hook to the jaw that deposited Gonzalez under the bottom rope.

In round eight, Ford dropped a now bloodied (from the nose Gonzalez with another perfect right hook to the jaw.

Ford landed 171 of 481 punches. Gonzalez was 35 of 297.

Ford, 130 lbs of Canden, NJ won by scores of 100-88 twice and 99-89 and is now 16-1-1. Gonzalez, 130 lbs of Aguildila, PR is 23-3.

“I feel like the fight tonight went really well,” said Ford. “I just wanted to close the show and get him out of there. This win means a lot to me. It gets me higher in the 130-pound rankings so I can eventually get a shot at a world title.”

Gallegos Scores Four Knockdowns; Stops Coe in 9

Manuel Gallegos scored the biggest win of his career as he stopped Khalil Coe in round nine of their 10-round light heavyweight bout.

In round five, Gallegos dropped Coe with a left to the body. Coe furiously came back and hurt Gallegos with several hard right hands. In round seven, Gallegos hurt Coe with an uppercut and floored him with a right hand to the head. In round eight, Gallegos sent Coe down again with a left hook to the body along the ropes. As soon as the ninth bell rang, Gallegos went directly at Coe and dropped him with a combination and referee Eric Dali stopped the bout at seven seconds.

Gallegos, 174 lbs of Los Mochis, MEX is 21-2-1 with 18 knockouts. Coe, 175 lbs of Jersey City, NJ is 9-1-1.

Reflecting on his preparation coming into the fight, Gallegos said, “This is a very good division, so I had to train hard. I had a long training camp up in Monterrey with my friends there. I have to thank my trainers that put me through my paces, and I think you saw the fruits of that labor of my long preparation in the ring tonight.”

He added, “I don’t know what’s next but I’m open to all options. I’ll let my promoter, and my team decide, but I’ll face whoever they put in front of me. I’m ready. I’ll stay at this weight. I like the 175-pound division – a lot of opportunities at this weight.”

Ammo Williams Takes out Garrido in 5

Austin Williams stopped Gian Garrido iin round five of their eight-round middleweight bout.

The right eye of Garrido began to swell in round two.

In round five, Williams battered Garrido all over the ring and then landed a booming left that forced referee Harvey Dock to stop the bout at 1:04.

When asked how Williams felt to have a win back under his belt he responded, “Man I feel amazing. I’m a champion. I’m a true champion in every sense of the word…I just came to make a statement and let y’all know I’m back, I’m a champion, and I’m coming for that world championship. Anybody at my weight can get it.

Ismail Muhammad remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Nelson Morales in a welterweight contest.

Muhammad, 145.8 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 40-36 on all cards and is now 6-0. Morales, 145.8 lbs of Scranton, PA is 5-19.

Morales was cut around the left eye in the fourth round.

PHILADELPHIA--Zaquin Moses made a successful debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Michael Ruiz in a super featherweight bout.

Moses, 129.6 lbs of Newark, New Jersey is the cousin of Shakur Stevenson, won by scores of 40-36 on all cards and is now 1-0. Ruiz, 129.6 lbs of Lacey Township, NJ is 1-5.

When asked about entering the ring for the first time as a professional, the three-time national amateur champion replied, “It was a learning experience. This was my first fight, so it was all new to me, the eight ounce [gloves] was new to me, fighting with no headgear was new to me. I never fought without headgear before. I like it better than the amateurs.”

Dennis Thompson opened the night with a second round stoppage over Edgar Ortiz Jr, in a scheduled four-round super bantamweight bout.

Thompson battered Ortiz all over the ring until Eric Dali stopped the bout at 2:59.

Thompson, 121.8 lbs of Philadelphia is a stablemate of Jaron Ennis is now 3-0 with two knockouts. Ortiz, 121.2 lbs of Phoenix is 8-6-2.

“I feel like I was calm in this fight, I was able to put my shots together and I worked on my speed and combinations in this fight,” said Thompson. 

Philadelphia (January 3, 2024) –Popular Philadelphia bantamweight contender Christian Carto will kick off King’s Promotions year when headlines against veteran Ardin Diale in the eight-round main event on Friday, January 12th at Live! Casino and Hotel Philadelphia.

Carto of Philadelphia is 20-1 with 13 knockouts. The 27 year-old is an eight-year professional who has wins over Alonso Melendez (14-1), James Smith (12-1) and is coming off a unanimous decision over Hector Andres Sosa on October 1, 2022 in Philadelphia.

Diale of the Philippines is 35-18-4 with 17 knockouts. The 35 year-old is an 18 year-pro who has defeated Jermie Jabel (16-0-1), Lotto Sonsona (15-0-2), Mhar Jhon Macahilig (15-1), Cris Paulino (10-0), Yota Hori (9-0-2), Reneiro Arizala (11-0-1), Jeny Boy Boca (9-1), Yuta Matsua (7-1-1) and Renoel Pael (19-1-1). Diale is looking to get back in the win column after losing to Gary Tamayo on March 30, 2023 in the Philippines.

In Eight-round Bouts:

Quadir Alright (9-1, 9 KOs) of Philadelphia takes on Adam Kipenga (11-4-1, 7 KOs) of Virginia in a welterweight bout.

Atif Oberlton (8-0, 6 KOs) of Philadelphia fights veteran Cleotis Pendarvis (22-19-2, 9 KOs) of Lancaster, CA in a light heavyweight contest.

In a Six-Round Bout, Ibrahim Robinson (6-0-1, 5 KOs) of Baltimore battles Renny Viamonte Mastrapa (2-0, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas in a clash of undefeated welterweights.:

In Four-Round Bouts:

Jaclyne McTamney (1-0) of Southampton, PA fights Cara McLaughlin (1-7) of Cookstown, Northern Ireland in a featherweight bout.

Ismail Muhammad (3-0, 2 KOs) of Philadelphia takes on an opponent to be named in a welterweight fight.

Cornellio Phipps of Oxford, PA will make his pro debut against Darin Holliday Jr. (0-1) of Philadelphia in a super bantamweight fight.

Debuting light heavyweights, Cody Russell of Pennsylvania and Ronald Trahan of Fort Worth, Texas will take part in a four-round bout.

Tickets are priced at $100 and can be purchased BY CLICKING THIS LINK

ATLANTIC CITY — Jaron Ennis retained the IBF Interim Welterweight title with a 10th round stoppage over Roiman Villa at The Adrian Phillips Ballroom inside Jim Whalen Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

The fight started off with Ennis showing his superior ability that featured his hand-speed as he landed big shots from both the orthodox and southpaw stance. The effects of Ennis’ work were evident as early as round two, as blood began to leak from the nose of Villa. Ennis continued to draw oohs and ahhs from the fans as he landed some eye catching shots. Villa showed a tremendous chin as he was rocked several times, but was sturdy on his feet. Villa tried to fight back valiantly and even got some hard right hands and mixed in a couple scoring uppercuts.

Ennis really started pouring on the fire in rounds eight and nine as his assault had Villa fortunate to get out of the rounds. The ringside doctor checked Villa after each frame and decided to let the fight continue. That would last only 87 seconds into round 10 as Ennis landed a hard chopping left hand that was followed by a pinpoint right that finally sent Villa to the canvas and the fight was stopped.

Ennis of Philadelphia is now 31-0 with 28 knockouts. Villa of Venezuela is now 26-2.

JARON ENNIS

“My performance was good. I could have listened to my corner a little more. My dad wanted me to do more body shots and more angles and not stand in front of him. I was getting hit with shots I wasn’t supposed to get hit with.

“I appreciate Villa taking this fight. Hats off to him and his family. I appreciate him for coming in and being a warrior. Let’s give it up for Villa. He’s a tough guy.

“I was breaking him down and I came out victorious. I knew he was a tough kid. I just had to be smart and take my time and keep touching and touching and eventually I was going to get him.

“We got to wait for Errol Spence and Bud to fight and you know I want the winner of that fight.

“I was setting him up. I hit him with a big left hand and I knew he was going down. So I was waiting for the left shot and I threw a hook and I knew he was going so I just threw one more and that was it. I knew they were going to stop it.

“Spence-Crawford is a great fight, a 50-50 fight, may the best man win. And Jaron “Boots” Ennis wants the winner of Errol Spence and Terence Crawford. Let’s make it happen.

“I’ll take Stanionis. Virgil Ortiz fell out so I’ll take Stanionis in a heartbeat. I want to get into the ring one more time before the end of the year to make it three. Stanionis, Keith Thurman, Ugas, Bud, Spence, all the top guys out there. Let’s make these fights happen.”

Marquis Taylor Decisions Yoelvis Gomez

Marquis Taylor won a 10-round unanimous decision over Yoelvis Gomez in a middleweight fight.

Taylor scored a knockdown in round two when he landed a right hand to the side of the head that put Gomez down on the canvas. Taylor continued to beat Gomez to the punch and worked the body well. Gomez tried to make a stand late by attempting to land power shots, but they were not effective.

Taylor landed 160 of 712 punches. Gomez was 120 of 549.

Taylor, 158 lbs of Galena Park, TX won by scores of 99-91 and 96-93 twice and is now 15-1-2. Gomez, 159 lbs of Las Vegas is 6-1.

MARQUIS TAYLOR

“Only through God’s grace am I able to do this. I want to thank everyone who put this together. Mom we did it.

“This is what I wanted to do my whole life. It took me a long time and a lot of battles to make it here. But it was all worth it.

“I proved to myself that I can be in here with anyone and overcome and prevail.

“This is my second weight class in nine months. I proved it to myself. It’s not about the weight. It’s about skill and hard work and trusting my team.

“I was working inside and staying close and boom. Luckily when he threw his shot he kind of fell off balance and I helped him.

“At first I’m not going to lie at the beginning of the fight it was hard because he’s really strong. He was doing what he’s supposed to do and that’s use his weight and push me down, so I had to get into his midsection and break him down, so I started tapping that belly and pushing in.

“I knew the safest space to be with him was inside. Outside he has crazy power so I had to cut it off and smother him so that’s what I did. I really hope to be back on here [on SHOWTIME] and give the fans what they pay for.

“After I dropped him I was like, okay, the body shots are going to get to him and I knew I had to keep him moving back. I’m going to keep him on his heels. He’s kind of a bully in the ring and bullies don’t like to be pushed back like that.

“I started to get him to second guess himself which took away his confidence in throwing power shots. It’s dangerous when a power puncher has a lot of confidence because you can make only so many shots miss. Some will get through.

“We’re fighting at 154 and 160 to keep the window of opportunity as wide as possible. Right now we’re calling myself a two-weight division fighter.

“Tim Tszyu – if he wants to stay busy I’ll fight him. Because he’s not going to get that Jermell Charlo fight because of Canelo. I would like to fight him or anyone in the top 5 or top 10 at 160. It’s time for me to fight the best.”

YOELVIS GOMEZ

“Of course I’m frustrated. The ref kept getting in the way and wouldn’t let me work in the range I wanted, short distance and making Taylor feel me. This is professional boxing. It’s not too much to ask for him to let me go do my job.

“I lost my balance when I got knocked down. He threw his punch trying to see if it landed and I got caught. I hurt him too, but I couldn’t take him down.

“I know that my team is sad right now, but I refuse to mope or hang my head. I’m going to keep working hard and come back even better. You can count on that.”

De Los Santos Decisions Adorno

Edwin De Los Santos won a 10-round unanimous decision over Joseph Adorno in a lightweight bout.

De Los Santos landed 144 of 470 punches; Adorno was just 37 of 240.

De Los Santos, 133.1 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR won by scores of 100-90 twice and 99-91 and is now 16-1. Adorno, 135 lbs of Allentown, PA is 17-3-2.

EDWIN DE LOS SANTOS

“Adorno came to basically survive in this fight. We came prepared to show our boxing skills in this fight tonight.

“I can’t tell you all the tricks we did in training. But we did a lot of hills, climbing, swimming, a lot of boxing, sparring. Again, I don’t want to reveal all of the secrets but that’s some of what was done for this fight.

“I have the potential to be more disciplined and to do more boxing and wait for the big names.

“I have to just talk to my promoter (about what’s next). But I don’t care. Anyone at 135 I’ll take care of.”

JOSEPH ADORNO

“The strategy was to box him, but he’s a southpaw and he was hard to figure out. He’s the best southpaw I’ve faced. He was well-prepared and knew how to manage the ring.

“Moving down in weight did play into my performance a little, but I really don’t want to make any excuses. I shouldn’t have taken this fight right away, I should have fought at 137-pounds first. It is what it is though, he was the better man. He did his job.”

Euri Cedeno demolished William Townsel inside of a round in their scheduled eight-round battle of undefeated middleweights.

Cedeno came out and threw some vicious power punches and dropped Townsel with a hard left hand. Cedeno jumped on Townsel and landed some more hard shots and the fight was stopped as Townsel was dropped again at 1:41.

Cedeno, 159 lbs of La Romana, DR is 5-0 with five knockoouts. Townsel, 157.5 lbs of Virginia Beach is 5-1.

Heavyweight Steven Torres remained undefeated with a third round stoppage of James Evans in a rematch of a draw that took place 19 months ago.

In round three, Torres battered Evans against the ropes until the bout was stopped at 1:08.

Torres, 239 lbs of Reading, PA is 6-0-1 with six knockouts. Evans, 225.5 lbs of Toledo, OH is 6-1-1.

Dwyke Flemmings Jr. remained undefeated by stopping Henry Rivera in round three of a scheduled four round super welterweight bout.

In round two, Rivera began to bleed from the nose. Flemmings continued to beat up a game Rivera until the bout was stopped at 1:57 of round three.

Ismail Muhmmad stopped Parker Bruno in round three of a scheduled four-round super lightweight bout.

In round two, Muhammad was credited with a knockdown after landing a right hook that made Bruno’s globe touch the canvas. Later in the round, Muhammad dropped Bruno with a straight left hand. In round three, Muhammad continued to batter a Bruno, whose nose was bloody and the bout was stopped at 1:45.

Muhmmad, 143 lbs of Philadelphia is 2-0 with two knockouts. Bruno, 141 lbs of Clear Lakes, TX is 0-2.