PHILADELPHIA — Jaron Ennis defended his share of the 147-pound title with a straight-up performance in front of his hometown crowd with a unanimous decision victory over Ukrainian fighter Karen Chukhadzhian on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

Ennis, known as Boots, won 119-107, 117-109, 116-110 on the scorecards to retain his IBF heavyweight title.

Ennis, 27, of northwest Philadelphia, competed for the second time this year in the Philadelphia arena, home to both the 76ers and Flyers.

Ennis (33-0) came close to victory in the fifth round when Chukhadzhian landed on his right knee in the corner with a series of body shots and weaved his way through the Philly crowd.

Ennis’ corner barked at the fighter to get Chukhadzhian “out of here and deep into the fight.” Ennis was touted as one of the rising stars in a sport desperately needed in America.

He did not lose the crowd of the country. Ennis certainly never won by stoppage seriously out of reach for many other fans — especially first-time viewers watching the card on DAZN — but going for the big knockout seemed to be his only goal.

This was a rematch of their fight in January 2023, with Ennis winning via unanimous decision. Ennis defended his heavyweight title against Roiman Villa in Atlantic City, New Jersey that year, and defeated David Avanesyan on his homecoming in Philly this year.

Ennis’ biggest knock is his lack of defence.

Sure, Ennis stumbled in the first round after getting hit with a big left hand, but he never left his feet. Chukhadzhian (24-3) was more assertive in the rematch and should have been looking for a widely panned performance in their first fight. He landed his share of body shots, but not enough to do serious damage or score enough runs on the scorecards.

Ennis headlined a card in July that drew a surprise 14,119 fans to Wells Fargo Center.

Saturday night’s attendance didn’t quite reach July’s attendance, largely due to the rematch against a lackluster opponent. Still, nearly 10,000 fans were firmly behind Boots, with the ring announcer shouting “Light up Boots!” When he begged, they all raised their smartphones.

Ennis wore metal shoulder spikes and purple-and-white shorts as he walked to the ring accompanied by rapper G Herbo.

Ennis, Errol Spence Jr. or openly stating that he wants to fight Terence Crawford. He also wants to try out Canelo Alvarez. Ennis also didn’t rule out moving up his weight class to 154 pounds.

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez successfully defended his share of the super flyweight title by defeating Pedro Guevara in the third round. Rodriguez, 24, from San Antonio, knocked down Guevara twice in the third round and put his opponent on his back the second time, which was enough for the referee to stop the fight.

Rodriguez (21-0) used a right uppercut to knock Guevara (44-5-1) down in the third round and remain at the top of the 115-pound division.

“I’m pretty happy, but I already knew it was going to happen this way,” he said. “I really thought you were going to stand there and fight some more.”

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