Eddie Hearn admits bringing Jaron Ennis home for the second game in a row comes at a pretty high cost.
Ennis is fighting in his hometown of Philadelphia for the second straight year since signing with Hearn's Matchroom defends his IBF welterweight world title against Karen Chukhadzhian on Saturday, live on DAZN.
Hearn wanted to pit the highly touted “Boots” against one of the other welterweight champions, but couldn't come to terms with either of them.
Several offers from the Matchroom boss were rejected by WBO champion Brian Norman Jr, and when it became clear that the Georgia man was unwilling to accept the terms offered to him, Hearn and Ennis decided to go ahead with an unwanted but ordered rematch to continue with Chukhadzhian.
Ennis won every round against the Ukrainian last January, although the 28-year-old has worked his way back into contention with three straight wins.
boxing” width=”660″ height=”432″ srcset=”https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-2.jpg 660w, https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-2-300×196.jpg 300w, https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-2-642×420.jpg 642w, https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-2-640×419.jpg 640w” sizes=”(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px”/>Hearn's belief in Ennis's star potential ultimately convinced him to push ahead with a fight in which, he admits, he will lose money.
“Listen, financially it’s a nightmare for us,” said the 45-year-old Boxing News.
“It is what it is.
“We need to stack this card.
“We spent a fortune on the card.
“But we are in the boot business, which is what we invest in.” [him] and I want to see it [him] unify the division beforehand [he] changes to 154.
“So we all decided: Let’s win this fight.” Let’s stay active. Let's fight in February or March. And let's make sure we get one of these [welterweight] Master [next].
“I would rather receive [Chukhadzhian] out of the way.
boxing” width=”660″ height=”432″ srcset=”https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-7.jpg 660w, https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-7-300×196.jpg 300w, https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-7-642×420.jpg 642w, https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-7-640×419.jpg 640w” sizes=”(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px”/>boxing” width=”660″ height=”432″ srcset=”https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-7.jpg 660w, https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-7-300×196.jpg 300w, https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-7-642×420.jpg 642w, https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-7-640×419.jpg 640w” data-sizes=”(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px”/>“If we're forced to do this, if we have nowhere to go, then let's just deal with it.” You know what I mean?
“We had a great evening in Philadelphia [on July 13]and we wanted to go back there with something compelling.
“We also understand that it is part of the boat journey and we need to get this guy out of the way.”
boxing” width=”660″ height=”432″ srcset=”https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-hearn.jpg 660w, https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-hearn-300×196.jpg 300w, https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-hearn-642×420.jpg 642w, https://www.proboxing-fans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ennis-hearn-640×419.jpg 640w” sizes=”(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px”/>Despite his desire to fight for unification, the Essex supporter has named alternative opponents if he fails to win them over to Boots.
Hearn publicly called for a 5-on-5 tournament against Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Company and named Ryan Garcia and Vergil Ortiz Jr. as potential opponents for Ennis.
